The Belgian aircraft maintenance company Sabena Aerospace is expanding significantly with the acquisition of a number of activities of Lufthansa Technik, both in Belgium and internationally. Some 215 workers are involved in the transaction.
Sabena Aerospace first acquires Lufthansa Technik Brussels, the Belgian maintenance subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik with activities at the airports of Brussels, Charleroi and Maastricht. Sabena Aerospace will also acquire Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International (LTMI), the subsidiary performing line maintenance activities for customers outside Germany. This includes LTMI’s German headquarters in Frankfurt and operations in Amsterdam, Palma de Mallorca, Johannesburg and Cape Town, Tel Aviv and Kigali.
The partnership might in the future extend to line maintenance services at other locations worldwide.
“This is an important acquisition for Sabena Aerospace,” said Sabena Aerospace spokesperson Laetitia Avanzini. The company will add 215 employees to its current payroll of 600 and expand its international presence. The acquisition should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The Christian trade union reacts positively in a message sent to Aviation24.be: Paul Corbeel, responsible for the ACV-CSC METEA union in Brabant, said: “We are initially pleased with this acquisition. We are particularly pleased that these activities are coming into Belgian hands. After all, 100% of the decision-making centre for this maintenance activity will be located in Belgium. This acquisition creates a large yet strongly cohesive story within aviation with a good Belgian anchorage.
This is good news for employment and may open up far-reaching prospects for the workers concerned. This is also positive news for Brussels Airport. This confirms the role that supporting activities play in the expansion of the airport.
We are already looking forward to the active role that we as an industry union can play in this aviation story. In consultation with all employees involved, we will continue to watch over the future of this large company.”
Sabena Aerospace is headquartered at Brussels Airport. Together with Sabca, which makes components for aerospace, it forms the aerospace group Blueberry.
