Airbus and Sabena Engineering have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for industrial collaboration in the establishment of an aircraft maintenance line in Belgium to support the BELUX A400M fleet.
This aircraft maintenance line will be able to perform light maintenance checks (C-Light) and heavy maintenance checks (C-Heavy) on the joint fleet.
“With a very complex and demanding international context for our customer’s military aircraft inventory, Airbus and Sabena Engineering will combine their skills and collaborative mindsets towards a more efficient services model that will ensure long-standing and robust benefits to the BELUX A400M fleet,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and Space.
A total of eight aircraft will benefit from the agreement which will also support the development of the Defence industry in Belgium within the next five years by creating employment and promoting the development of high-level skills and competencies in the field of military aircraft maintenance operations in the country, while combining Airbus and Sabena’s expertise.
“The signing of this MOU is truly a reflection of the profound partnership of more than 50 years between Sabena Engineering and the Belgian Air Force, and the implementation of the Belgian Defense strategic vision to further develop the Belgian Defence Industrial and Technological Base (BITD),” states Stéphane Burton, CEO of Orizio Group, the holding company of Sabena Engineering. “This also further strengthens the partnership with Airbus that already exists on the A400M since 2017 and contributes to Orizio Group’s strategy of developing its Wide-Body Maintenance activities at Brussels Airport.”
Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder: “I am particularly pleased with the agreement between Airbus and Sabena Engineering, which guarantees the maintenance of our Belgian-Luxembourg A400M fleet in Belgium. Thanks to this agreement, we not only guarantee available maintenance capacity for our fleet in our own country, but we also guarantee and create jobs in our Belgian aerospace industry. This agreement once again shows that cooperation between Defence and our industry is extremely valuable and that we must cherish and strengthen that cooperation. It strengthens our operational fleet as well as our Belgian industry and our strategic autonomy.”