MTU Maintenance Signs Contract with Air Cairo for Maintenance of 42 LEAP-1A Engines

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 9, MTU Maintenance announced the signing of its first LEAP-1A engine maintenance contracts in North Africa, including an agreement with Egyptian airline Air Cairo covering 42 LEAP-1A engines, which are currently used on its 19 Airbus A320neo aircraft. The related maintenance services will be jointly undertaken by MTU Maintenance Hannover in Germany and MTU Maintenance Zhuhai in China.

Air Cairo's existing 19 A320neo aircraft use LEAP-1A engines, and this contract covers the 42 engines corresponding to this fleet. MTU will adopt a collaborative maintenance model between Hannover, Germany and Zhuhai, China, with MTU Maintenance Zhuhai possessing specialized maintenance capabilities for LEAP series engines and serving as an important base in MTU's narrowbody engine maintenance network.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai obtained maintenance, repair and overhaul capabilities for LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines in 2019, and currently also has maintenance capabilities for narrowbody engines including LEAP, CFM56, V2500 and PW1100G-JM. The facility is 50/50 owned by China Southern Airlines and MTU Aero Engines, has two maintenance facilities, and upon reaching full designed capacity will have an annual maintenance capacity of more than 700 engines.

The LEAP-1A was developed by CFM International and primarily equips the Airbus A320neo family. MTU disclosed that approximately 7,000 LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines have been delivered to date, with approximately 20,000 additional orders and purchase commitments. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai currently handles maintenance for both LEAP engine types.

This North African contract marks the first time MTU Maintenance has secured long-term LEAP-1A maintenance business in the region. In addition to Air Cairo, MTU stated that it has recently reached LEAP-1A maintenance agreements with other North African airlines, but this announcement did not disclose the names of other customers or the corresponding number of engines. The contract for Air Cairo's 42 engines has clearly specified the maintenance objects and execution locations.