British Airways has announced a multimillion-pound investment in its maintenance engineering facility at Cardiff Airport.

The airline said it will expand one of three existing maintenance bays at the site to facilitate its larger long-haul Airbus A350 aircraft.

This will create a second fully flexible bay, allowing more complex work to be completed.

The base can currently only serve Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft.

The expansion, which is part of BA’s £7 billion transformation, will begin next year and is expected to be completed by 2026.

Some 480 people are employed by the carrier in the Welsh capital.

BA chief technical officer Andy Best said: “Our Welsh engineering base is an integral part of our maintenance operation, and this investment, as part of our wider maintenance strategy, will ensure that British Airways Engineering Wales continues to play a key role for many years to come.

“The expanded facility provides us with greater flexibility and control over our heavy maintenance activity on both the Boeing and Airbus long-haul fleets, ensuring more efficient planning and execution.”

Rebecca Evans, the Welsh Government’s Economy, Energy and Planning Secretary, said: “This is very welcome news from British Airways, paving the way for further growth at their Cardiff site and its highly skilled workforce.

“This announcement once again demonstrates the vital role that Cardiff Airport plays in bringing investment into Wales and in growing our aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul sector, where we see continued international interest.”