De Havilland Canada has resumed production of the last Q400 aircraft to be built at the historic Downsview facilities in Toronto. The company and unionized employees ratified a new contract in late October and production of the last aircraft resumed a week ago. At the same time, the company is packing up the tooling and equipment for storage and it’s not clear whether the aircraft currently on the line will be the last Q400s. The company says it’s hopeful that will not be the case. The manufacturing equipment will be decommissioned and stored while De Havilland Canada reviews future production opportunities.
“De Havilland Canada maintains an optimistic outlook on its future and the future of the Dash 8 program and has stated publicly that it intends to be ready to meet new aircraft demand as the industry recovers from the pandemic,” the company said in a statement. “Our objective is to resume new aircraft production at a new site at the earliest possible time, subject to market demand.” It’s widely speculated that future production will occur at Calgary International Airport. The move of the factory out of Toronto was the only issue in the recent strike in Toronto and it was settled with enhanced severance and retirement packages for workers.