Cessna Aircraft is planning customer festivities Sept. 17 to mark the grand opening of its new company-owned Citation Service Center at Valencia Airport, Manises, Spain.
The Valencia Citation Service Center will have approximately 62,400 square feet (5,800 square meters) of hangar space and 38,000 square feet (3,500 square meters) of office and administration space. The center will provide full line and base maintenance, warranty work, paint, small modifications and mobile support teams.
“Cessna’s Valencia Service Center will meet the increasing demand from a growing number of Citation owners and operators in the region and their ranks are expected to get larger in the years ahead,” said Marcelo Casenove, Cessna manager of Customer Solutions.
“The Valencia location will complement our Paris service center,” he added. “Valencia Airport is convenient to many cities popular with European and Northern Africa Citation operators.”
The newest location is the result of extensive studies, research and negotiations with Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA), Spain’s airports administrative office. Cessna and AENA signed a land grant contract for a location at the Valencia Airport (LEVC), located within the city of Quart de Poblet, just west of the city of Valencia.
Valencia Employee Training Underway in U.S.
Seventeen new employees who will work in maintenance at the facility have been hired and already have received six months of training on all Citation models with FlightSafety International and are currently receiving a year of on-the-job training at Cessna-owned service centers in the United States. The new employees already aboard include 12 mechanics with an EASA B1 license and five avionics/electrical professionals with an EASA B2 license.
During their on-the-job training the new Valencia employees learn processes, interact with customers, participate in decision-making training, become comfortable with Cessna’s culture of quality and safety and learn from high-tenure employees across all models and modifications.
“The group traveled to Valencia in mid-July to set up the shops to get ready to turn wrenches,” said Casenove. Additional administrative and management positions will be filled this summer. The facility will open for business on Sept. 3, prior to the grand opening ceremony, Casenove indicated. The Citation Service Center in Valencia will be English speaking, but employees will also converse in Spanish, English, French, Dutch, German, Italian, Portuguese and Valencian-Catalan.