Etihad Airways Engineering, the largest commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider in the Middle East, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TARMAC Aerosave, an industrial group specialising in aircraft maintenance, storage and recycling and owned jointly by Airbus, Safran and Suez. The MoU paves the way for the two companies to identify and jointly pursue opportunities to develop, explore, support and extend Part 145 maintenance services and products to their customers from around the world.

Following the MoU, Etihad Airways Engineering and TARMAC Aerosave completed their first Airbus A350 C-check in January for a leading Latin American airline at the TARMAC facility in Tarbes, France. An Etihad Airways Engineering team flew from Abu Dhabi to carry out and support the heavy maintenance check.

Etihad Airways Engineering Chief Executive Officer Abdul Khaliq Saeed said: "We are happy to announce this collaboration which enhances our ability to support our customers and represents a key milestone on our journey to add the A350 to our extensive range of MRO capabilities."

The A350 heavy maintenance check also provided an opportunity for Etihad Airways Engineering's licensed engineers to complete hands-on Part 147 A350 training. The company is gearing up to carry out A350 maintenance checks in Abu Dhabi from March 2019.

Alain Leboucher, Executive Vice-President, TARMAC Aerosave said: "We are pleased to cooperate with Etihad Airways Engineering in order to develop synergies across our businesses and provide greater support to our customers worldwide."

Etihad Airways Engineering's state-of-the-art facility is the largest independent commercial MRO facility in the Middle East, located adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Aircraft hangars at the facility cover approximately 66,000 sq metres, including 10,000 sq metres of aircraft painting facilities and a custom-designed hangar that can accommodate up to three Airbus A380 aircraft simultaneously. The company has successfully completed maintenance projects over the years for airlines across the world.

Contributed by Etihad Airways Engineering