Texel Air To Expand MRO Hangars In Bahrain

texel air hangar
Credit: Texel Air

LE BOURGET—Middle Eastern cargo airline Texel Air has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand its MRO facilities at its Bahrain home base.

The carrier announced the signing of the MOU at the Paris Air Show this week which will see it add capacity at Bahrain International Airport through the development of a new 75,000-ft.2 Code C (narrowbody) aircraft hangar, designed to accommodate up to three narrowbody aircraft including the Boeing 737, which Texel Air operates. The configuration can also house multiple ultra-long-range business jets.

The company, established in 2013 by entrepreneur John Chisholm, will also add 108,000 ft.2 of apron, maneuvering and taxiway area to provide more parking and maintenance services tailored to customers in private and corporate aviation.

Aviation Week has contacted Texel Air about the timeframe of the project’s start and completion.

Texel Air conducts line and base maintenance at the site, but previously had mostly outsourced the maintaining of its fleet of two 737-700FC and three 737-800BCF aircraft.

It holds European Union Aviation Safety Agency line maintenance approval for 737 Classic (CL) and Next-Generation (NG) variants, along with Airbus A320 aircraft. It also holds a Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs (BCAA) line maintenance approval for the 737CL, NG and A320 along with a BCAA base maintenance approval for the 737CL and NG.

The cargo airline has previously outlined plans to bring more maintenance in-house. Two years ago, at Aviation Week’s MRO Middle East in Dubai, Shaun du Plessis, at the time director of maintenance operations for Texel Air, said it conducts nearly 80% of its maintenance in-house and would strive to bring nearly all of its MRO activities in-house.

Bahrain is looking to grow as a regional aviation hub and modernize its aviation industry through Gulf Air Group, which is backed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat. The group, which has flag carrier Gulf Air under its umbrella of companies, plans to invest in its civil aviation industry and domestic aviation infrastructure and cites the MRO sector as playing a key role in this.

“Supporting the logistics sector is an urgent necessity for diversifying airport services and solidifying the kingdom of Bahrain's position as a regional aviation hub,” said Jeffrey Goh, CEO of Gulf Air Group.

At the beginning of the year, Gulf Air outlined plans to build a new maintenance facility at Bahrain International Airport, with the site expected to be operational 18 to 24 months from the start of construction. The airline said it is looking to insource more MRO services and the hangar, once built, will be able to accommodate one widebody and one narrowbody aircraft simultaneously, or three narrowbodies at the same time.

Meanwhile, Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s transportation and telecommunications minister, said in a statement released at the Paris Air Show that the expansion of advanced maintenance services at Bahrain International Airport will strengthen the Middle Eastern state’s ability to attract high-quality investments while contributing to the national economic diversification agenda.

James Pozzi

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.