Welsh Secretary visits British Airways Maintenance Centre
Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones has today taken a tour behind the scenes of British Airways Maintenance Centre (BAMC) at Cardiff Airport.
Welsh Secretary visits British Airways Maintenance Centre
Mr Jones is this week marking the important contribution the aviation sector makes to the Welsh economy ahead of his visit to the International Paris Air Show (Thursday 20 June).
The Secretary of State met with Bill Kelly, General Manager Heavy Maintenance at British Airways Engineering, who escorted him on a tour of the three-bay hangar and support workshops. He later met employees currently undertaking apprenticeships at the facility.
BAMC is a dedicated service and maintenance facility for British Airways’ fleet of Boeing 747, 777 and long haul 767 aircraft. It is responsible for virtually all of the maintenance and repair covering the entire fleet.
Secretary of State for Wales, David Jones said:
Aerospace is one of our most important manufacturing industries, with Britain leading the way in Europe. The sector contributes a huge £24billion to the economy every year, includes 3,000 companies and supports 230,000 jobs across the country.
Wales, and its highly skilled workforce already play an integral role in this success, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet those making their own contribution to this important industry today.
BAMC is British Airways’ sole supplier of heavy maintenance on its long haul fleet, supported in this maintenance role by its sister companies: British Airways Avionics Engineering Ltd at Llantrisant and British Airways Interiors Engineering Ltd at Blackwood.
Bill Kelly, General Manager Heavy Maintenance at British Airways Engineering said:
We are extremely proud of our engineering operations in South Wales. We employ more than 1,400 highly skilled people across three world-class facilities, and are committed to ensuring the continued success of the aviation sector in the region.
Later this week, the Secretary of State will meet with major aviation companies with strong Welsh links at the International Paris Air Show, including Broughton based Airbus.
British Airways will take delivery of its first Airbus A380 in July and it will be displayed for the first time at the air show.
Last updated 19 June 2013 + show all updates
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First published.