A maintenance facility in Yangon has repaired an ATR aircraft from Myanmar National Airlines, marking a first for a Myanmar-based facility, sources from the airline said.
Previously, airlines based in Myanmar had to send their aircraft to Malaysia or Singapore for repairs as Myanmar lacked aviation engineers, mechanics, tools, specialised equipment and advanced technologies.
The cost of large-scale maintenance, including 8-year checks, amounts to more than US$700,000 for a 2007 ATR aircraft and over US$400,000 for a 2010 model in Singapore. In Malaysia, repairs on a 2012 ATR aircraft cost as much as $500,000.
The maintenance cost for an ATR aircraft in Myanmar is just over US$100,000.
Myanmar National Airlines signed an MoU with the France-based ATR aircraft company in 2014 to buy six new aircraft and open a maintenance factory at the Yangon International Airport.
The factory will repair ATR aircraft from Myanmar as well as those from other countries.
Source: Myanmar Eleven
