Bombardier has officially inaugurated its Miami-Opa Locka service centre at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The new facility is a testament to Bombardier's commitment to the US and nearby Latin American markets and it establishes a key building block in its growing global customer support network. At full capacity, the OEM-operated service centre plans to add close to 300 aerospace jobs in the community, including more than 225 highly skilled technicians.

Once fully ramped up, the 300,000 sq ft facility will more than quadruple Bombardier's current maintenance footprint in Florida and allow the company to transfer its service centre operations from Fort Lauderdale.

“The US is an important market for Bombardier with close to 3,000 aircraft in our fleet, and this highly-efficient facility provides a key focal point for customers based in the area and those who will visit from as far as Latin America,” says president and CEO Éric Martel. “Bombardier began this year by naming Wichita as our new headquarters in the US, and I am delighted to highlight this inauguration that significantly grows our footprint and employment base in Florida. The city of Miami is a vibrant, international hub of business and commerce, and we can't wait to welcome our customers to our new facility and see our employees continue to thrive and grow.”

“Congratulations to Bombardier on the successful completion of its newest service centre, which has brought hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in private investment to Miami-Opa Locka Executive airport and Miami-Dade County,” adds Miami-Dade Aviation Department director and CEO Ralph Cutié. “We are extremely proud to now be home to one of Bombardier's worldwide service centres and a hub for its customers in the US and Latin America.”

The facility is fully equipped to perform extensive and complete full-service scheduled and unscheduled heavy maintenance, paint enhancement services, aircraft modifications, avionics installations and aircraft on ground support (AOG) for a fleet of Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft. The expanded hangar at the service centre is capable of holding an impressive 18 of Bombardier's Global 7500 aircraft under one roof.

Bombardier is also currently hiring additional maintenance technicians both in Florida and across its entire service network to support its recent expansions. Technicians will receive Bombardier's type training course for mechanical and avionics certification to provide maintenance services at all 10 Bombardier's service centres worldwide, including its newly expanded facilities in London Biggin Hill and Singapore, as well as its new facility in Melbourne, Australia. Bombardier's service centre network currently has openings for a variety of technical and professional roles.

“The new Miami-Opa Locka service centre brings essential, specialised services to our customers, enabling us to continue to deliver the service excellence they have come to expect from Bombardier,” says executive vice president, services and support, and corporate strategy Jean-Christophe Gallagher. “Our new facility provides significant benefits including quick aircraft turnarounds, greater convenience and OEM peace of mind to Bombardier's growing customer base in the US and around the world.”

With its recent service centre expansion projects, Bombardier has added close to one million sq ft of new service capacity to its worldwide aftermarket network.