Leading Edge Communications

AIR ASTANA OPENS NEW ENGINEERING FACILITY IN ALMATY

Friday 23rd September, 2011

  • AIR ASTANA OPENS NEW ENGINEERING FACILITY IN ALMATY
  • AIR ASTANA OPENS NEW ENGINEERING FACILITY IN ALMATY

Kazakhstan sets its sights on becoming major MRO centre in Central Asia.

Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s leading carrier, opened a new internationally approved engineering facility in Almaty today. The facility is equipped to handle non-destructive testing and repairs to wheels, batteries and aircraft structures. Air Astana’s investment in the facility will save it over US$1 million in the first year, as it becomes independent of foreign maintenance service providers.

The facility is a milestone in Air Astana’s plan to create a leading aircraft maintenance centre serving Central Asia and the CIS. This process will see the airline progressively upgrading its engineering capabilities to the point where it will be able to undertake complex aircraft maintenance services (C-checks) on both its own aircraft and those of other carriers by the end of 2012. Brake and composite material shops, as well as structural maintenance workshops will be ready for certification by the European Aviation Safety Authorities (EASA) by the end of 2011. The airline is additionally investigating the possibility of creating calibration and hydrostatic laboratories.

“Both Air Astana and the government of Kazakhstan are committed to seeing the country become the region’s focal point for aeronautical engineering excellence, both in terms of the availability of highly qualified manpower resources and international standard MRO capabilities,” said Peter Foster, President of Air Astana. “The opening of Air Astana’s new engineering facility in Almaty today represents a major step towards reaching this national goal.”

Air Astana is a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the only airline in Kazakhstan certified to perform aircraft maintenance to European standard EASA/Part 145.

Air Astana currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft comprising two Boeing 767-300, four Boeing 757-200, ten Airbus A321/A320/A319, two Embraer E190 and six Fokker 50. The airline serves 23 domestic and 31 international destinations.

Air Astana is a joint venture between the National Welfare Fund “Samruk-Kazyna JSC and the British company BAE Systems, with shares of 51% and 49% respectively.

www.airastana.com