De Havilland Canada confirmed on Monday that it is resuming assembly of the Dash 8 turboprops pending delivery after a three-month strike by its employees.
The work, however, is temporary, and is aimed only at completing the aircraft in production, estimated at eight units, according to Flight Global.
The Canadian manufacturer has previously announced that it will cease production of the Dash 8 until new demands for the passenger turboprop arise. However, the resumption of production will take place at another location as the assembly line in Toronto is leased from Bombardier and will be closed by the end of the year.
DHC even revealed that it had started the process of decommissioning the facility in Downsview. After the last Dash 8-400 is assembled, the manufacturing equipment will be stored until the company decides to resume production.
“We believe that our upcoming pause in production is responsible and prudent measure that current industry conditions and will limit strain on the market and De Havilland Canada’s supply based on the pandemic recovery occurs,” said De Havilland in a statement.
De Havilland Canada was recreated in 2019 after Longview Aviation Capital acquired the production rights to Bombardier’s Dash 8 family of aircraft. The group had also taken over other aircraft from the traditional planemaker such as the DHC-6 Twin Otter, which are currently part of the Viking Air portfolio.
In July, DHC announced the resumption of a hybrid propulsion project with Pratt & Whitney Canada that will fly a Dash 8-100 demonstrator in the future.
