A training college for China Southern Airlines pilots operating from perth‘s Jandakot Airport has gone into voluntary liquidation, with more than 60 local staff losing their jobs.
Key points:
- The training college for China Southern Airlines had employed 62 local staff
- A liquidator hopes to sell the college’s 37 planes and Merredin Airport
- The Wheatbelt airport will remain open as expressions of interest are sought
“The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of borders was a contributing factor to the ongoing viability of the business,” liquidator Grant Thornton Australia said in a statement.
Grant Thornton Australia said all 62 staff were sacked when it was appointed liquidator of China Southern West Australian Flying College on Monday.
However, it said all staff members were expected to receive their full entitlements, based on a preliminary assessment.
The liquidator is now looking to sell the company’s 37 aircraft and Merredin Airport, 260 kilometres east of Perth, which the local shire sold to China Southern Airlines for $1 in 1995.
The airline then spent more than $1 million upgrading the airstrip for use as part of the training college and also as a public airport.
While the liquidator looks at options for a sale, the airport…