Revelations about the need to spend nearly a million dollars to fix the hangar come on top of council being forced to write off a $2.5 million loan to fund its construction and the costs of associated legal battles, understood to have run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars so far.

Council general manager Alan Eldridge acknowledged on Tuesday there were “a number of issues with the building”, though stressed they had not triggered a breach in any legal agreement with former lessee Regional Express (Rex), despite the airline’s claims.

“Douglas Aerospace have been operating using a risk-based approach to enable them to continue business as usual while works were being completed,” he said.

“Early estimates for works to make the building fit for purpose for Douglas Aerospace were approximately $885,000, however, the amount of rectification works required is dependent on the purpose of the facility.”

Council met with Rex on Friday to discuss what needed to be done to bring the hangar up to scratch for plane painting.

Just hours after that meeting, Rex issued a public statement announcing it was terminating its deal to lease the hangar, accusing council of breaching an agreement between the two parties.

Council’s lawyers have since ordered Douglas Aerospace to vacate the hangar as soon as practically possible, though the company had yet to do so on Wednesday.