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With the surge of airline start-ups in the region and the rapid growth of single-aisle aircraft, MENA Aerospace partnered with US specialist Aviance Global to launch Bahrain’s first maintenance, repair and overhaul business. spurred on.
The project was launched with a ceremony at the Bahrain International Air Show on November 9th.
In a venture branded as MENA Technics, MENA will expand its hangar facility at Bahrain International Airport, initially from the current two bays to three bays. However, we are also filing for an additional two-bay MRO facility for narrow bodies.
The business will serve both commercial airlines and private jet operators and is part 145 certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Dr. Mohamed Juman, Founder and Managing Director of MENA Aerospace, said: The initiative “supports the Kingdom’s efforts to strengthen its position as a major aviation and logistics hub,” he adds.
The two companies plan to extend cooperation to Saudi Arabia in the “near future”.
Aviance founder and CEO Philip Edinborough says MENA is the “natural choice” for expansion into the Gulf market. “This partnership strengthens the services and expertise we offer in Bahrain and paves the way for further expansion,” he continues.
This is the second major announcement from MENA at the show. On November 8, the company confirmed plans to launch a cargo partnership with Singapore-based Asia Cargo Network. With this, the two companies will eventually operate his 13 narrowbodies in the Gulf, with Boeing 767s expected to be added within the next three months.
The first two ACN aircraft, Boeing 737-800F and 767-300F, will arrive in the next two months to join MENA’s fleet of 737-300 converted freighters and enter service “immediately.”
The rest of the fleet will be deployed over three years, ACN said.
The move comes as Bahraini authorities strengthen the country’s status as an air cargo hub. The island is one of four global hubs for German parcel and logistics giant DHL, which is expanding its fleet registered in Bahrain. Meanwhile, DHL’s rival FedEx Express will be the anchor tenant for a new cargo village under construction at the airport. Texel is another important air freight forwarder.
The “strategic alliance” positions the two companies as “one of the major players in freight forwarding in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa,” MENA said.
Juman said the company looked at “where the growth is” in the global freight market and identified the Gulf states, Africa and Southeast Asia.
“Our thought process was to try to connect and serve these markets,” he says. “ACN is a leading freight forwarder in Southeast Asia and we have found it the perfect partner to expand our services in these markets.”
Marco Isaak, Chief Executive Officer of ACN Group, describes the partnership as “a historic milestone in the expansion of our business.” [Middle East and North Africa] region”.
The joint venture will operate under the MENA Cargo brand under the Bahraini Airline Certificate. MENA Cargo was founded in 2020 and has its own Bahrain AOC certified in 2021.
ACN was founded in 2015 and has companies in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It owns World Cargo Airlines, Asia Cargo Airlines and Aero Speed Aviation.
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