Air Astana is to build a new MRO base to perform maintenance on its mainline fleet and in anticipation of the arrival of its first Boeing 787s in 2019.
The Kazakhstani national carrier plans to build a EASA 145-certified hangar in Astana by December 2015. Initially focused on performing A-checks on Air Astana’s existing fleet, the new facility will also be able to accommodate the three Dreamliners the airline has on order.
“The planned Astana Maintenance facilities will be an expansion of the company maintenance capability as a part of Astana airport development,” says John Wainwright, senior vice-president of the engineering group at Air Astana. “In addition, the new facility will ensure maintenance of the Boeing 787s we have on order; at the moment, the company has no hangar of a sufficient size to accommodate such a large aircraft.”
An existing base in Almaty will continue be developed on the basis of the airline’s operational needs, Wainwright adds.
Once completed, Air Astana is open to expanding into third-party contract work. Wainwright says that “penetrating regional markets will be considered at a later stage of the programme”.
The facility will include an apron, parking stands and other infrastructure, and will designed to allow for further expansion in the future.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
