Ethiopian Airlines has announced the completion of a strip-and-paint program on two of its Airbus A350-900 aircraft, a first in the African continent. This news comes following the company’s recent creation of full strip-and-paint capabilities for its Boeing 787 fleet.
Ethiopian Airlines expands MRO capabilities
This achievement marks a new step forward for the airline’s Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO).
Mesfin Tasew, Ethiopian Airlines CEO, has stated that the recent strip-and-paint programmes reflect “Ethiopian’s ongoing commitment to investing in world-class MRO capabilities, strengthening our operational resilience, enhancing our self-reliance, and elevating our global standing.”
The new service includes a range of specialised painting and coating on both the aircraft and its components through the use of a built-for-purpose paint hangar and paint shop. This service is currently offered to external clients as well as internally on the airline’s fleet. The Airbus A350-900 marks the second set of internal aircraft that have undergone the new strip-and-paint program after the airline’s Boeing 787.
Ethiopian Airlines’ Paint Shop equipped with advanced painting and coating for aircraft
The company’s paint shop has extensive painting and multi-layer coating capabilities. Currently, the paint shop offers painting and coating services on advanced composite and aluminium airframes.
This means that the airline can effectively handle a variety of painting and coating projects via more advanced application methods such as High-Volume Low-Pressure (HVLP). As Tasew commented on the accomplishment:
“The successful execution of our full strip-and-paint project on two of our A350-900 aircraft, coupled with the completion of paint capability on the Boeing 787 earlier this year, marks a significant step forward in the airline’s in-house widebody advanced composite structure paint capabilities.”
The company’s expansion of these services to its wider fleet is a big step forward.
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