Ethiopian Airlines MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) division has upgraded its product and has now been granted approval by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide full airframe maintenance services for Bombardier’s Q100, Q200 and
Q300 turboprop aircraft. Additionally, it has also been certified to provide overhauls for the CFM International CFM56-3 and CFM56-7 engine respectively.
With the Q100, Q200 and Q300 turboprops being very popular in Africa, and being
widely in use with regional operators in the continent, Ethiopian MRO says it hopes to be able to provide efficient and affordable maintenance
services to operators of the Dash8/Q-Series family of aircraft in Africa
and the Middle East.
“The approval of the airframe maintenance capability for the full range of Bombardier’s Dash8*/Q-Series* airplanes, the construction of our two new maintenance hangars, the expansion of our engine maintenance facilities and our training program for large number of aircraft technicians and engineers will reposition Ethiopian MRO Services as a major and leading player in Africa.
Ethiopian MRO In line with our Vision 2025 strategic road map, Ethiopian MRO Services will be one of the seven Strategic Business Units of the Ethiopian Aviation group, along with International Passengers Services, Domestic and Regional Passenger Services, Ethiopian Cargo, Ethiopian Aviation Academy, Ethiopian Ground Services and Ethiopian Flight Catering. With these new approvals of the maintenance capability, Ethiopian MRO Services will now confidently market its services to sister airlines in the region,” said Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
Source [Ethiopian Airlines]
Turning to its Engine Overhaul business, Ethiopian said it has invested "about USD21million" in developing its engine overhaul business with money going towards the expansion of the existing Engine Maintenance shop, procurement of required machinery, equipment and tools, personnel training and upgrading the existing Test Cell.
The new capability development took almost three years to complete with the assistance of General Electric (GE) Aviation.
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| Ethiopian Engine Overhaul (Ethiopian) |
“We would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to GE Aviation and Snecma/CFMI who genuinely helped Ethiopian Airlines in making this project successful,” said Mr. Zemene Nega, Senior Vice President of Ethiopian MRO. “Ethiopian has Engine Overhaul Support Agreement (EOSA) with CFMI, manufacturer of both engines for the continued support of the engine overhaul activities in the Ethiopian Engine Shop.” he added.
The CFM56-3 and CFM56-7 engines power the Boeing 737 Classics and the Boeing 737 New Generation (NG) airplanes with both variants in wide use through out Africa and the Middle East.
While Ethiopian MRO already has full airframe maintenance capability for both aircraft models, the addition of the CFM56-3 and -7 engines to the Ethiopian MRO repertoire will provide airline operators with more convenient 737 maintenance options.
Presently, Ethiopian MRO has full airframe maintenance capacity on Boeing 777, 767, 757, 737NGs, 737 Classic, Bombardier* Q400 and MD-11 model aircraft.
