Announcing the shortlist on Friday, Qantas revealed Launceston was among nine regional cities to be selected out of more than 60.

The school is expected to open its doors in 2019, with plans to train up to 100 students each year.

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Qantas Group Pilot Academy executive manager Wes Nobelius said a final decision on the academy’s location was expected later this year.

“The way that communities have come together to develop some outstanding proposals has been fantastic. We’ve been really impressed with the quality of responses and the level of support on offer,” Mr Nobelius said.

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“Narrowing down the possible locations from more than 60 to just nine wasn’t easy. It will be harder still to whittle this down to just one.”

Mr Nobelius said cities could still be in contention to host a second academy if the demand for pilots was strong enough.

“We think there could be enough demand from the broader industry for us to train up to 500 pilots a year, and to do that we’re likely to need two separate academies because of the practical realities of trying to do that much training in a single location,” he said.

“Training on this scale represents a commercial opportunity for Qantas, but it’s also about contributing to a talent pipeline that we rely on for more senior pilots down the track. These graduates might fly for other airlines, join the defence force or be part of services like the Royal Flying Doctors.”

Earlier this month, the state government confirmed it had submitted a proposal promoting both Launceston and Devonport airports.

The North-West, however, did not make the cut.

The shortlist: