The aircraft maintenance company Sabena Engineering has inaugurated a new hangar at Brussels Airport. Among other things, it will take care of the Belgian army’s A400M military transport aircraft.
The hangar has a surface area of 6,000 m². The first aircraft will be able to be serviced there by the end of the summer. Sabena Engineering calls the opening of the strategic facility “a turning point for the company and the MRO (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) ecosystem in Belgium.”
More activities for defense at the airport
Among other things, the Belgian army’s Airbus A400M aircraft will be maintained in the hangar. The Belgian military has seven Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft at its disposal. These, together with one A400M from Luxembourg, form a binational ‘BELUX’ unit operating from Melsbroek (15th Wing, 20th Squadron).
“We are taking an important step today, both for our air force and for our aviation industry, “said Defense Minister Theo Francken (N-VA). “The mutual recognition represents not only a logistical and technical achievement, but it will also allow us to excel even more in the field of strategic air transport, a specific military capability of Belgium.”
Hundreds of additional jobs
CEO Stéphane Burton spoke of “a new phase in the company’s industrial plan” as it invests in the long term at Brussels Airport, namely by taking ownership of a new wide-body hangar for large aircraft, such as multi-aisle passenger planes. “This is not only a message for future talents, but the investment also symbolizes the possibility of a reindustrialization of Europe.”
Sabena Engineering currently employs some 750 people in Belgium. The project should create an additional 100 or so jobs. Sabena Engineering, part of the aviation group Orizio, also wants to strengthen partnerships for the maintenance of commercial aircraft, for example with the airlines KLM and Ryanair.
Burton, therefore, sees the hangar as “an important step in the rollout of a ‘dual use’ strategy,” in which the company “deploys its industrial resources to serve both military and commercial aviation.”
Also active at Charleroi Airport
In June, the Walloon government selected Sabena Engineering for its project to dismantle aircraft at Charleroi Airport. By 2034, one in ten aircraft in Europe should be recycled there. The project involves an investment of 50 million euros.
Sabena Engineering predicts growth in its activities in the coming years, from eight decommissioned aircraft in 2027 to 36 aircraft in 2034. That would represent a 10% market share of the number of aircraft to be recycled annually in Europe.
