At the Tamworth Business Chamber’s State of the City forum on Tuesday, council director of business and community, John Sommerlad said a third university presence was among the tertiary options on the table for the region with aviation as a focus.

“Obviously Tamworth has put its hand up for the(training) facility,” he said.

“Tamworth Regional Airport is built for pilot training and has so many things that other airports don’t and that puts us in prime position.

”We don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch, it’s a process and Qantas wants it somewhere in regional Australia.”

Mr Sommerlad said there could be an option for pilots to undertake both their practical and tertiary study in Tamworth.

“We are in discussions with a third university for the potential to provide that specific qualification,” he said.

“Only three universities can do that, if that university becomes part of the pilot training process, there will be a third university presence in the city.”

Mr Sommerlad confirmed he and mayor Col Murray would be speaking to Qantas executives on Wednesday and he was “sure” the pilot academy would be on the agenda.

However he conceded there were “other players in this game” and the city was competing against other regional centres to host the academy.

A third university would complement the work of the University of New England and the University of Newcastle in the city.