Title : Nelson Major Maintenance for the Chop?
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Nelson Major Maintenance for the Chop?
A proposal to close Air New Zealand's heavy maintenance facility in Nelson resulting in the loss of 100 highly-skilled jobs is "devastating", say regional leaders. Air New Zealand staff in Nelson were told on Wednesday of a proposal to end heavy maintenance of turboprop aircraft at the regional facility at Nelson Airport, with only light maintenance to be carried out. An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said staff were told of the proposal to move turboprop aircraft heavy maintenance from the regional maintenance base in Nelson to Christchurch. She was unable to comment on the number of jobs affected while consultation was underway but said it would see "a number of roles" in Nelson disestablished, with some having the option of redeployment to Christchurch. Heavy maintenance involves an aircraft being taken apart every 18 months to two years for inspection and overhaul as opposed to light or line maintenance which involves overnight checks as well as minor scheduled maintenance tasks. Nelson MP Nick Smith said the proposal was a "brutal blow" that would cost Nelson 100 jobs, $10 million a year in regional income and would have larger flow on impacts. While it was not surprising the airline was downsizing its aircraft maintenance with the global collapse in aviation, Smith said he was disappointed in the closure of the Nelson facility. "The worry is that we will not recover these skilled jobs when the Covid-19 emergency is behind us. The only consolation is the retention of the light overnight maintenance." Smith said he hoped the proposal would be reconsidered by the Government, as the majority shareholder in Air New Zealand it was currently providing it with "hundreds of millions of dollars of financial support". "These jobs are critical to regional New Zealand and we should be leaving the door open to this heavy engineering work being returned to Nelson." Smith said the Government needed to take an industry-wide perspective on its $600 million support package which did not support smaller airlines like Sounds Air and Origin, that were now even more important to regions like Nelson. A petition to 'Save Sounds Air' was launched by Kaikōura National MP Stuart Smith, calling for the Government to support the airline through its $600 million aviation sector relief package. By 4pm on Wednesday it had gained more than 18,000 signatures. Air New Zealand has previously announced it is laying off 387 pilots as part of a wider move to reduce its workforce by at least 3750 to make it through the coronavirus pandemic. Smith was confident air services in and out of Nelson would be retained. "Our geographical location makes travel by air to our main centres like Auckland Wellington and Christchurch attractive and viable. Nelson will retain a strong domestic tourism sector and will in time recover its international tourism business." Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese said the news was a "devastating blow" to Air New Zealand staff who were members of the Nelson Tasman community. "It comes at a time when many families are facing financial uncertainty." She said the loss of 100 highly-skilled jobs in a workforce the size of Nelson was "extremely damaging". "We've had a strong relationship now with Air New Zealand for many decades and it is critical that the Government understands the scale of impact to the aviation sector in our region and they need to ensure that support is targeted to help us recover." Reese said the opportunity for redeployment was reasonably low and new jobs would need to be found to keep these skilled people in the region. The Crown infrastructure projects offered opportunities for employment if it was supported by Government. "We really want to get these skilled people back into employment in our region, we don't want to lose them. I urge Air New Zealand not to close the door on heavy maintenance for good. This workforce has performed really well for Air New Zealand and they deserve the opportunity for this decision to be revisited when the economic situation improves." Tasman Mayor Tim King said the proposal to axe jobs was "extremely concerning" and a further reminder of the national economic impact of Covid-19 on Nelson. "The biggest impact will be felt by these people and their families." King said he understood Air New Zealand's position, driven by conditions well beyond its control. But as a co-owner of Nelson Airport, he hoped the decision was a temporary consequence of the coronavirus pandemic that could be revisted when the economy recovered. Support from the Government as Air New Zealand's majority shareholder should take the regional ramifications of Covid-19 into account. He said the proposal demonstrated the importance of Government support for regional projects to ensure sustainable employment and economic opportunities in the future. A subsidiary of the airline, Air New Zealand Regional Maintenance Limited was formed in 2015, creating around 50 high-paid engineering jobs in a facility at the Nelson Airport. The aim was to make Nelson Australasia's preferred overhaul facility with a business that performed overnight and heavy maintenance on Q300 and ATR aircraft. The business initially serviced Air New Zealand fleet then planned to go after customers from the Asia-Pacific. In 2017, it signed a five-year contract with Virgin Australia to overhaul 14 ATR aircraft in Nelson. everal of those aircraft were retired after Virgin's turboprop operations in Australia were overhauled and they became a familiar sight for Nelsonians, parked up in the far corner of the Nelson Airport for a number of years. Last August, a Virgin Australia spokeswoman said six ATR aircraft were retired from the fleet in 2017, two were leased to other operators and four were being stored at Nelson Airport and would be used in the Virgin fleet when required.
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