EasyJet announced plans to build the new facility in Germany in summer 2021.
British low-cost carrier easyJet has opened a new narrowbody maintenance facility at Berlin Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport. An opening ceremony at the hangar was held on Jan. 11, 18 months after easyJet announced initial plans to build the facility.
The four-bay hangar, able to accommodate up to four Airbus A321 aircraft simultaneously, will house light base maintenance activities on easyJet Europe’s fleet of 135 A320 family aircraft. The facility will operate under an Austrian Air Operator Certificate (AOC). Overall, easyJet operates more than 300 aircraft, encompassing its Europe, UK and Switzerland-registered aircraft.
EasyJet says the investment in the 108,000 ft.2 hangar project was around €20 million ($21.4 million) and the new facility will further improve the efficiency of operational processes while reducing long-term maintenance costs.
It also anticipates further job creation for maintenance engineers and technicians in the local region after adding to its on-site team in Berlin over the past two years. In the future, it expects more than 100 staff will be responsible for the supervision and management of all on-site aircraft maintenance activities.
“By expanding our infrastructure for maintaining and servicing the easyJet Europe fleet, we aim to continue to ensure connectivity with numerous European metropolises and holiday destinations, as well as creating new local jobs,” says Thomas Haagensen, group markets director at easyJet and managing director of easyJet Europe.
EasyJet announced plans to build the new facility in July 2021 and commenced construction in September that year at the German capital’s airport, which opened in October 2020, nearly nine years later than scheduled.
The carrier has had a presence in Berlin since 2004, having previously stationed aircraft at the former Tegel Airport, which closed in November 2020.
Despite post-Brexit moves to register some of its fleet outside of the UK and under AOCs in a European Union member state, the majority of the airline’s MRO work remains in the UK. It operates base maintenance hangars at London Gatwick and London Luton airports and operates line stations at London Luton and Liverpool airports.
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