AERALIS has selected Prestwick International Airport in Ayrshire, Scotland as the location for the final assembly of its UK aircraft. A Strategic Agreement is now being discussed between the two parties.

Ian Forgie, CEO of Prestwick Airport commented: “We are tremendously excited about this agreement with AERALIS and the opportunity it brings to generate jobs, apprenticeships, investment and innovation in the Prestwick area. We look forward to working with AERALIS to make this happen.”

Tristan Crawford, CEO of AERALIS, stated: “Prestwick represents an ideal site for our UK Final Assembly Line. The airport has a strong aviation legacy particularly in whole aircraft manufacture, as well as excellent local aerospace manufacturing and MRO resources, and an operating model well suited to supporting new aerospace programmes. This will provide AERALIS with tremendous operating capability for building, testing and industrialising the new aircraft, meaning Prestwick is the perfect choice for AERALIS.

“Over 4,000 jobs will be created across AERALIS’s UK manufacturing locations and its supply base; of these a portion will now be in Central Ayrshire. As a strong contender to build the next generation of aircraft for the Red Arrows, these iconic aircraft could also soon be assembled in Scotland.

“AERALIS’s proposition draws on existing world-leading UK manufacturing through its AERTEAM™ consortium of seven proven aerospace and defence companies, supported by over 40 SMEs, who between them have decades of experience building and operating military aircraft. From Central Ayrshire to Gosport and in multiple locations in-between, AERALIS components will be designed, manufactured and integrated across the UK, culminating in assembly and flight at Prestwick.”

AERALIS will now work with the Airport and local stakeholders to refine the details for the site, as well as establish the critical relationships with local technology, infrastructure and supply chain partners to deliver a sustainable and scalable enterprise.

Most importantly, AERALIS, the AERTEAM™ consortium, and Prestwick Aviation Holdings all recognise the pressing need to provide the Royal Air Force (RAF) with a new light jet training aircraft in extremely tight timescales, as highlighted in the recent Strategic Defence Review. With AERTEAM™ having demonstrated the industrial capability to deliver the programme within these timescales, AERALIS awaits UK Government commitment to the aircraft in order to move forward with these plans that will clearly return Scotland to its deserved place as a first-tier aviation nation.

Alan Gemmell MP, MP for Central Ayrshire said: “I am delighted that AERALIS has taken this decision. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the UK Government to support the UK’s first British-designed, British-built aircraft in over 50 years and to bring a significant number of jobs to Scotland.”

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