Porter Aviation, OIAA invest over $65M at Ottawa Int’l Airport
by CM Staff
Porter is in the process of building two aircraft hangars over approximately 150,000 square feet to maintain its growing fleet.
Porter building two hangars for new aircraft maintenance base | 200 full-time, permanent local jobs being created (CNW Group/Porter Airlines)
OTTAWA — Porter Aviation Holdings Inc., parent company of Porter Airlines, and the Ottawa International Airport Authority (OIAA) are investing over $65 million dollars in YOW’s future.
Porter is in the process of building two aircraft hangars, over approximately 150,000 square feet to maintain its growing fleet, featuring the new Embraer E195-E2 and existing De Havilland Dash 8-400. OIAA is constructing a new taxiway and related infrastructure to support the hangar development, as well as future opportunities in this section of the airport.
Workers are building the hangars in two phases: phase one is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023 and phase two in the first quarter of 2024. YOW will be a primary maintenance base for the E195-E2 with Porter hiring 200 local team members, including 160 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers (AMEs.) Other positions include shop technicians, stores clerks and administrative support. These represent highly-skilled roles that will be based in the city.
The parties also expect that the project will support 150 construction jobs during the building process.
“Ottawa has been a critical location for Porter throughout our history and the multi-million dollar facilities we’re building to maintain aircraft here is only the latest example of our desire to meaningfully invest in Canada’s Capital Region,” said Michael Deluce, president and CEO, Porter Airlines, in a statement.
“We anticipate our presence in Ottawa will grow in the coming years, supported by the maintenance base and future aircraft deliveries that give us the ability to consider new routes.”
The airline has up to 100 E195-E2s on order, including 50 firm commitments and 50 purchase rights. The current Dash 8-400 fleet includes 29 aircraft.
