The Aero Maintenance Organisation (AMO) has received further boost as the Civil Aviation Authority of Congo has commenced audit of the facility in order to approve it for maintenance of Congo’s registered aircraft.
This is just as the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has commenced the process of renewing its certification of the MRO after the expiration of the one-year approval granted Aero to maintain “Ghana registered aircraft or foreign registered aircraft which operate within or into Ghana.”
Daily Trust reports that separate teams from Congo and Ghana CAAs are in Lagos, the headquarters of Aero Contractors Company, the oldest airline in Nigeria, to assess its books.
The establishment of Aero AMO in 2017 has become a relief to many Nigerian airlines which now maintain their aircraft up to C-check level at the Aero Hangar in Lagos.
Airlines like Med-View, Max Air, Air Peace and Arik Air now use the Aero facility to maintain their aircraft.
But West and Central African countries like Ghana and Congo have also taken advantage of the proximity of Aero MRO to access high quality and more cost-effective maintenance services.
Since the approval of Aero MRO by GCAA in 2018, some Ghanaian carriers like Passion Air have been ferrying their aircraft to Lagos for light and heavy maintenance.
With Congo auditing the MRO, airlines in the country which spend more money and time taking their planes to South Africa or East Africa and Europe for maintenance can now be doing same in Nigeria.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Manager, Airworthiness of GCAA, Engr. Eric Ewusie, said Ghana was conducting an audit to be sure that the Aero MRO was still up to the standard the authority met in 2018 when it first approved the facility.
Also, Alain Mulembwi of Congo CAA said the country, having seen the vision of Aero Contractors MRO, decided to take advantage of it to access cheaper maintenance services which would in turn assist African carriers which had limited access to finances.
