Aviatic Opens New MRO Facility In Lithuania

Aviatic will provide line and base maintenance services for the Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft, as well as 737 classic and NG aircraft.

Lithuania-based MRO provider Aviatic MRO has opened a new base maintenance facility in Siauliai which will focus on repair services for several Boeing and Airbus aircraft types.

The facility, opened on Tuesday (Aug. 29), has capacity for four narrowbody bays simultaneously or one widebody (up to the size of one Boeing 747-8 aircraft) and two narrowbody configurations. In total, the volume of the facility is around 183,000 ft.2, including warehouses, workshops and offices.

From the site in North Lithuania, Aviatic will provide line and base maintenance services for Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft, as well as Boeing 737 Classic and NG aircraft, including scheduled heavy maintenance checks, end-of-lease projects, delivery and re-delivery checks, modifications and other MRO services based on customer demand. Long-term, Aviatic says it aims to turn the MRO center into a one-stop-shop for any commercial aircraft type.

Aviatic says it expects to ramp up to full operations in Siauliai by the fourth quarter of 2023. The investment in the maintenance facility will be to the tune of €20m ($21.8 million), with around 1,000 technical roles being created long-term as a result.

Aviatic has opened the new hangar in partnership with aircraft leasing provider World Star Aviation, which has been involved with the project for more than two years as part of a signed memorandum of understanding.

The project is separate from a joint venture announced in March 2021 with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to build an MRO facility and passenger-to-freighter conversion site in Siauliai. Aviatic says IAI has since stepped back from the project, citing factors such as COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, however both parties are still exploring potential cooperations. “We are in active talks with IAI on how we should adapt our partnership to fit to current conditions and needs of the market,” an Aviatic spokesperson told Aviation Week.

The new hangar will add to Aviatic’s existing network of line stations in the region at locations in Siauliai, Vilnius, Riga and Amsterdam in Europe along with line stations in Diass, Senegal and Lagos, Nigeria. It also operates an existing base maintenance facility in Riga.

Dmitrij Celiadin, founder of Aviatic MRO, says the opening of the facility is an important achievement both for the company and the overall aviation sector in the Baltic region. “Our goal is to become a leading center for aircraft maintenance in the region and provide airlines with a wide range of customized services, including line and base maintenance, continuing airworthiness management and spare parts supply,” he says.

“The hangar facility at Siauliai is our strategic step in entering a new niche and offering the customers diverse maintenance services along with parking slots in front of the new hangar," adds Celiadin. "This brings additional efficiency and convenience to our customers.”

“The demand for professional and comprehensive aircraft maintenance and repair services keeps rising due to the growth of air travel, shortage of spare parts, delays in manufacturing and increasing focus on the aviation sector overall,” says Marc Iarchy, partner at World Star Aviation, which has headquarters in San Francisco and London. “This new Aviatic MRO maintenance facility opens up wide possibilities for airlines and lessors to maintain their fleet.”

As Aviation Week's MRO Editor EMEA, James Pozzi covers the latest industry news from the European region and beyond. He also writes in-depth features on the commercial aftermarket for Inside MRO.