Low Cost & Regional

De Havilland working on Dash 8-400, Twin Otter return, decision by year-end

Canada’s De Havilland is working on bringing the DHC-6 Twin Otter and Dash 8-400 aircraft back into production at its new Alberta aircraft manufacturing facility and headquarters.

“We are currently working towards bringing the DHC-6 Twin Otter and Dash 8-400 aircraft back into production,” confirmed Brian Chafe, De Havilland’s chief executive.

“We are currently undertaking a significant review of the DHC-6 Twin Otter to ensure our product is meeting market demand. We expect this review to be complete by the end of the year at which point we will be able to make a decision with respect to future Twin Otter production,” the business stated. “The aviation industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that air travel demand is rebounding which is putting grounded aircraft back into service. Once we have completed our review of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, we will begin our Dash 8 review to determine a path to resuming production.”

The new facility will be called De Havilland Field and will consist of a new, state-of-the-art aircraft assembly facility, runway, parts manufacturing and distribution centres and maintenance repair and overhaul centre. De Havilland Field will also be the site of final assembly for the DHC-515 Firefighter aircraft, which was launched earlier this year.

If the aircraft manufacturer’s application and re-zoning are approved within the expected timeframe and construction goes well, the business said it could see aircraft production begin as early as 2025.

Sign In

Lost your password?