A new Boeing maintenance hangar at Gatwick Airport is set to open in 2019 after gaining planning permission from Crawley Borough Council.

The facility will provide on-site engineering and maintenance for operators of Boeing aircraft at Gatwick, including short haul 737s and a growing number of long haul 747s, 777s and 787 Dreamliners, when it becomes fully operational in early 2019.

The hanger will support the Gatwick airline community’s immediate operational needs and the continued growth in both short and long haul services.

It will support Boeing’s Global Fleet Care customers, which is utilised by more than 60 airline customers around the world, providing a flexible set of fleet engineering, materials and maintenance services tailored for airlines.

Gatwick Airport chief commercial officer, Guy Stephenson says: “Gatwick’s partnership with Boeing will deliver a boost to jobs on the airport as well as providing close service support to Gatwick’s growing long and short haul Boeing fleet. This will help ensure that Gatwick’s record growth can continue and our global network can continue to expand.”

The facility will be located in the North West zone of the airport, and is expected to support more than 200 jobs at Boeing and its suppliers in the region surrounding the airport.