Kazakhstan’s Air Astana has opened a new internationally approved engineering facility in Almaty.
The facility is equipped to handle non-destructive testing and repairs to wheels, batteries and aircraft structures. Air Astana’s investment in the facility is expected to save it over $1 million in the first year, as it becomes independent of foreign maintenance service providers.
The facility is a milestone in Air Astana’s plan to create a leading aircraft maintenance centre serving Central Asia and the CIS. This process will see the airline progressively upgrading its engineering capabilities to the point where it will be able to undertake complex aircraft maintenance services (C-checks) on both its own aircraft and those of other carriers by the end of 2012.