AEGEAN will invest €140 million to create the first maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and flight simulator center in Greece. The investment is expected to create over 1,100 direct and indirect jobs over the next 5-7 years.
On Thursday (December 21, 2022), AEGEAN announced that they will invest €140 million to create the first MRO and flight simulator center in Greece. The new facility is expected to create over 1,100 direct and indirect jobs over the next 5-7 years, while contributing between €400-450 in tax revenues for the Greek State. AEGEAN has signed a MoU with AIA for the long-term lease of the old Olympic Air technical base at Athens Airport, which has been idled for over a decade. The 85,000 square meter facility offers up to 10 MRO and technical control positions capable of accommodating a variety of aircraft, and will also house AEGEAN’s Simulation and Training Center for crew members and pilots, with up to six state-of-the-art flight simulators.
In Thursday’s announcment, AEGEAN’s Chairman, Eftichios Vassilakis, said,
“We are creating a hub, an aviation ecosystem for maintenance and training services, with significant added value for the local aviation industry and strong extroversion potential while filling a significant gap in the entire aviation industry. This investment is bringing back in Greece a vast range of services that up to date have been performed abroad whereas at the same time and , upon maturity, it creates a new dynamic and full potential maintenance and 3rd part training center. Through this investment Greece and Athens International Airport are being positioned in the map of international aviation support services. At the same time, it creates opportunities for upskilling, reskilling and growth for our people and many new job opportunities in an industry with a strong growth perspective.”
Also commenting on the new MRO and Training facility, AEGEAN’s CEO, Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, added,
“With our new investment, we further enhance the competitiveness and technical capabilities of AEGEAN and expand our operations. At the same time, we provide a viable solution for the entire aviation industry in Greece, by supporting the prospects and dynamics of the sector in a expanding international market with strong potentials. With a strong environmental orientation, fully harmonized with our company's wider sustainability roadmap, but also with a strong social, environmental, and national positive impact. Having though, at its epicenter our human capital. Our goal is that all pilots and engineers of the Greek airline sector to have worked for AEGEAN and acquired their skills. To become a talent and skills incubator for AEGEAN’s people and the country.”
The existing Engineering Training School of Olympic Air and AEGEAN’s Pilot Training Center will join the new ecosystem. As part of the project, the buildings will be modernized with new technology, including the installation of 35,000 square meters of solar panels with a power generating capacity of 3 MW, or 4.4 GWh annually.
AEGEAN and its subsidiary Olympic Air carried 15 million passengers in 2019 and the airline has been honored ten out of the last eleven years with the Skytrax World Airline Award for ‘Best European Regional Airline.’ AEGEAN expects to receive 44 additional Airbus A320neo Family aircraft by 2026.
Source: AEGEAN