Qantas opens $65M training center, adds Australia’s first A350 simulator

The Qantas Group has opened a new Emergency Procedures Training Centre (EPTC) in Sydney, part of a AU$100 million (US$65 million) investment in pilot and cabin crew training facilities across Qantas and Jetstar.

Located at the Qantas Mascot campus, the center will be used to train more than 10,000 Qantas, Jetstar, and QantasLink pilots and cabin crew each year.

Replica cabins, escape slides, and VR under one roof

The 6,300-square-meter center brings together widebody and narrowbody training facilities, including replica aircraft cabins fitted with seats and galleys that let crew rehearse different onboard scenarios. 

It also features door trainers for eight different aircraft types, a multi-story escape slide and rafts, a virtual reality training area, and classrooms spread across two floors.

The Sydney center is one of seven Qantas Group training facilities now operating across Australia, including another Emergency Procedures Training Centre in Perth that opened in March 2026.

Seven new simulators, including Australia’s first A350

Over the past year, the group has significantly built out its training capability. 

Seven new flight simulators began training pilots in the past 12 months, including Australia’s first Airbus A350 simulator in Sydney, A320 simulators for Qantas and Jetstar pilots, and a new Q400 simulator to support QantasLink’s turboprop fleet transition. Upgrades to the Group’s Melbourne facility were also completed during the year.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the investment in training supports the airline’s fleet and network expansion. 

She said the new Sydney center brings together new training technology and capability for pilots and cabin crew across Qantas, Jetstar, and QantasLink, allowing crews to train on aircraft types before they arrive in the country, including Qantas’ Project Sunrise A350-1000ULR.

“As the largest aviation skills and training provider in Australia, our teams delivered more than 1.7 million hours of training in the past year, and that number will keep growing as we take delivery of more new aircraft and welcome more people to Qantas and Jetstar,” Hudson said.

Preparing for a wave of new aircraft

The expanded training capability comes as Qantas and Jetstar prepare to receive more than 200 new aircraft, with 17 arriving in FY26 and up to 31 expected over the next 12 months. Among them is Qantas’ first A350-1000ULR, which will connect Australia to London nonstop for the first time starting in October 2027.

To support that growth, the Group has welcomed more than 4,400 Australia-based operational employees since 2023, with thousands of additional roles expected in the years ahead.

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