23 March 2020: Longview Aviation Capital will be suspending the manufacturing operations for new production Dash 8-400 aircraft at De Havilland's Downsview facility in Toronto, and new production Series 400 Twin Otter aircraft at Viking's facilities in Victoria, BC and Calgary, Alberta until further notice. Due to this, about 800 employees or 65 percent of De Havilland's current workforce, and 180 employees or 40 percent of Viking current workforce will be affected.
Longview Aviation Capital is the parent company of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited and Viking Air Limited.
This decision is taken on the basis of close communication with customers and suppliers against a significant drop in airline activity due to COVID-19.
However, this suspension is applicable to the new aircraft production only, both De Havilland and Viking will continue to provide full product support and technical services to all in-service De Havilland and Viking aircraft.
All other Longview business activities will continue as usual like
Customer support operations, including parts, and in-service aircraft support
CL-415EAF "Enhanced Aerial Firefighter" conversions through Longview Aviation Services
Aircraft leasing activity through Longview Aviation Asset Management
"This is a period of considerable challenge for our industry and for our customers, and we must adapt to this new - hopefully temporary - reality," said David Curtis, Executive Chairman, Longview Aviation Capital Corp. "In this context, we will focus our efforts on supporting our customers' existing in-service fleets and delivering the other services our companies provide to the global aviation industry. We will remain in close contact with our customers and continue to monitor the evolving situation. We will make further adjustments to our operations as required."
Looking at how the global pandemic crises pans out, Longview is hoping to restart the aircraft manufacturing operations.
