Airlines: Aegean invests 140 million euros for crew training and aircraft maintenance center

AEGEAN is moving forward with a new investment of 140 million euros to create the first Aircraft Maintenance Service Center and the first Flight Simulator and Crew Training Center, in one of Europe’s first “green” hangars.

As announced today by the president of AEGEAN, Eutychios Vassilakis, this investment creates new dynamics of added value, extroversion and competitiveness for AEGEAN, but also more broadly for the Greek aviation industry.

This new center, which will be operational from next October and has a horizon of completion and maturation in the next five to seven years, will provide pilot and crew training services as well as aircraft maintenance for both Aegean and third-party air carriers.

The Investment

This investment is expected to create 500 new direct and a total of more than 1,100 new direct and indirect high-skilled jobs, while at the same time, the fiscal benefits are also estimated to be significant, as tax revenues and contributions of over 400-450 million euros are expected during the concession. Regarding the financing of the investment, Mr. Vasilakis stated that it will be covered with equity capital and through bank lending, while he also expressed his interest in resources from the Recovery Fund.

The investment includes the price for the concession by the AIA until 2046 of building facilities, their repair, functional and energy upgrade and of course the purchase of modern equipment for the Technical Base of the old Olympic Aviation, which has been inactive for more than a decade.

Maintenance

With this investment, but mainly with the utilization and development of the potential and know-how of AEGEAN people, a modern integrated ecosystem of support services for air transport is being created, which will be put at the service of the wider industry. Thus filling, by activating the potential of 85,000 m2 spaces, an important gap in the infrastructure of our country in the provision of third-party support services through two main parallel activities:

Aegean returns to profitability in Q2 2022

The aircraft maintenance function, with the development and gradual staffing of the technical base, with a final capacity of up to 10 positions for heavy maintenance, repairs and checks for various types of aircraft.

The development of a Flight Simulator and Crew Training Center, with an investment in a total of 6 state-of-the-art flight simulators, which will cover training needs for Airbus, ATR and Boeing aircraft, as well as facilities for carrying out special training for cabin crews.

The already existing Olympic Air Engineer Training School, with a strong operating tradition, will also join the same ecosystem, as well as the AEGEAN Pilot Training Organization, which is already operating.

Energy upgrade

At the same time, the investment foresees the energy upgrade of the building facilities, through the investment for the installation of 35,000 m2 photovoltaic panels, 3 MW power, on the building shell, with the aim of meeting their energy needs and creating one of the first “green” hangars in Europe, in one of the greenest airports in Europe.

“We are creating a hub, an ecosystem of production of heavy maintenance support services and training, which gives new data to the local added value and extroversion of our industry, filling an important gap in the country’s infrastructure”, said Mr. Eftichios Vassilakis. This investment, he added, brings to Greece a range of AEGEAN support services that are currently performed abroad, but also creates, as it matures, a significant potential for aircraft support and third-party crew training, putting Greece and AIA on the international map air transport support services. At the same time, it creates opportunities for the upgrading and development of our people, as well as many new jobs, in an industry with a strong development perspective.”

Competitiveness

For his part, Mr. Dimitris Gerogiannis, CEO of AEGEAN, emphasized: “With the new investment of our company, we significantly strengthen the competitiveness and technical capabilities of AEGEAN and expand our development options and the knowledge level of our people. At the same time, we are coming to provide a solution to chronic issues of the aviation sector in the country, supporting the dynamics of the sector and forming the framework for development in a new international market with strong prospects. In an infrastructure that creates new levels of local added value and dynamic extroversion for the country’s air transport support services sector. Through an investment with a strong environmental character, fully harmonized with our company’s wider sustainable development program, but also with a strong social, environmental and national impact. However, at the core of this investment is human capital. Our goal is for the pilots and engineers of the future for the country to graduate from AEGEAN. To essentially become an executive incubator for AEGEAN and the country.”