Qantas and CAE have officially inaugurated a state-of-the-art training centre in St Peters, near Sydney Airport. The centre is designed to train thousands of new and existing pilots from Qantas and Jetstar annually. Developed in collaboration with global training provider CAE, the facility features five full-flight simulators, three fixed training devices and ten classrooms, with additional training equipment, including Australia's first Airbus A350 simulator, set to arrive in the coming years.
This marks the return of Sydney-based pilot training after Qantas relocated its simulators to Melbourne and Brisbane in 2021 to accommodate the NSW Government's Sydney Gateway road project. CAE will manage the facility and maintain all training equipment. Qantas and Jetstar training captains will oversee pilot training, which typically includes four simulator sessions per year for maintaining qualifications and up to 15 sessions for training on new aircraft types.
The St Peters centre also accommodates ground training for pilots and cabin crew, including emergency procedure drills and cabin simulations, until mid-2026. By then, Qantas plans to open a dedicated ground training facility in Mascot. This relocation will free up space at the St Peters site, transforming it into a dedicated pilot training hub to meet growing demand as the airline expands its fleet.
The opening of this centre complements broader investments by Qantas in training infrastructure, including a new Group Safety Academy, AU$40 million (US$26 million) in upgraded ground training facilities nationwide, and the expansion of the Qantas Group Pilot Academy scholarship programme in 2025. Additionally, the first apprentices from the Qantas Engineering Academy are set to begin training in January 2025. The facility's simulators will support training for a variety of aircraft, including the Airbus A320, A330, A380, A350 and Boeing 787 and 737 platforms.
