Inside Caerdav’s Wales Facility

Caerdav re-branded from Cardiff Aviation in 2019 to signal a change in course for the MRO. The name change followed a challenging few years that saw owner Bruce Dickinson plug many of the company's financial holes.

The re-brand signaled a change in course for the MRO. It soon added FAA Part 145 approval and is looking to grow a steady stream of airline and leasing customers for aircraft base maintenance and modifications work for customers such as Air Moldova (pictured).

The company also has ASL Airlines as a customer, having worked with the French carrier as a launch customer for its line maintenance offering last summer. Pictured is one of its 737s which went into the hangar in February 2020.

A long-time customer has been UK low-cost carrier Easyjet. Recent agreements with the airline include end of lease checks on some of its Airbus A319 aircraft, which went through the 134,000 sq ft. hangar following their summer flying schedule before returning to the lessor.

The company expects a pending multi-million-pound investment from the Middle East, which will lead to new facilities and training capabilities. Caerdav expects the deal to be finalized in the new few months. The commitment from conglomerate MOBH Group, an investor primarily in real estate, to Caerdav was announced in the form of a memorandum of understanding in October 2019.

The undisclosed amount will help finance the creation of a center of excellence for commercial aviation training at Bro Tathan business park, which will provide pilot and cabin crew training, along with the construction of a new aircraft paint hangar. Once built, it will offer full paint services on aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 767.

Another long-term target is to grow the business as a center of excellence for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft types. Demand from a leasing customer has also led to it exploring approval from the Turkish regulator this year.

It also plans to launch a new apprenticeship program in 2020, with a projected first annual intake of 20. It also hopes to increase its staff, now numbering around 100.