A service centre for wide-body passenger aircraft, including Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s, will be built at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, southern Poland. It is expected to be the largest facility of its type in Central and Eastern Europe.
A letter of intent regarding the construction of the new maintenance centre was signed on Monday in Rzeszów, in the Podkarpackie province, by Rafał Milczarski, CEO of the Polish Aviation Group (PGL), and Władysław Ortyl, the Podkarpackie Provincial Assembly Speaker.
“The new aircraft service centre will employ a highly qualified staff of engineers and aviation mechanics, among other professionals, from the Aviation Valley, an aviation cluster located in southeastern Poland, and the Rzeszów University of Technology,” said Milczarski, who is also the CEO of Poland’s flagship carrier PLL LOT. In his opinion, the creation of a service base for passenger airplanes in Podkarpacie is proof of the development of companies that are part of PGL.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Mikołaj Wild, present at the signing of the letter of intent, noted that “the aviation market in Poland is developing very dynamically, the best examples being Rzeszów and the Podkarpackie province.” “Jasionka (Airport – PAP) has achieved record-breaking results on the European and New York routes,” he added.
PGL was set up by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in January, as part of the government’s Strategy for Responsible Development. A joint-stock company worth PLN 1.2 billion (EUR 280 million), it is designed to bring together the main state-owned passenger-aviation companies. Apart from LOT, the Polish Aviation Group it comprises the aircraft servicing company LOT AMS, the passenger and cargo handling company LS Airport Services and a few other companies connected with air transport. Eventually, PGL will also include a new aircraft-leasing firm.
Source: thefirstnews.com