Airplane manufacturer Boeing has received planning permission for new hangar at Gatwick airport.
The £88m hangar, which creates around 100 direct jobs and an additional 100 indirect jobs in the area, was subject to local authority planning permission.
It will support Boeing’s European GoldCare customers, which is a flexible set of fleet engineering, materials and maintenance services tailored for 60 airline customers and managed by Boeing.
The facility will also add engineering capacity at Gatwick to support airlines as the airport continues its growth in both short and long-haul services.
Peter Smith, cabinet member for planning and economic development said: “I am delighted that Crawley Council members voted to support Boeing’s £88 million investment in Gatwick and Crawley.
“This should bring forward 220 jobs in the Crawley area, many of which will be high tech jobs and up to ten apprenticeships a year.
“This is a big vote of confidence in Gatwick and Crawley and further supports the Councils efforts to support business in the Crawley area.”
Planning permission was granted late on Wednesday (18 October) by the local authority and Boeing expects construction to start at the facility later this year, for an early 2019 opening.
Building the facility is expected to support 475 jobs and contribute around £80m of gross value added (GVA) to the local economy around the airport.
Over the first two decades of operation the hangar’s activities will generate a further £135m in GVA in the Gatwick area.
This development will build on the long term partnership between Boeing and the UK Government, which was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2016.
And it will be the ground breaking for Boeing’s first factory in Europe, to be built outside Sheffield, South Yorkshire and twinned with a facility in Portland, Oregon.