Bombardier hints at new MRO facility

The UK-based site, which was inaugurated last week, extends to nearly 250,000sqft with a new hangar that has transformed from eight to 22 service bays, capable of accommodating up to 14 Global 7500 aircraft at one time.

Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice president, services and support, and corporate strategy at Bombardier, described the Biggin Hill centre as the company’s “beacon” in the region with jets flying in from Europe, the Gulf and Africa.

But he also hinted at further expansion aimed at servicing those customers closer to home.

“There are key markets where we have only made modest investments,” he said. “You could draw a conclusion that there are more things to do in the Middle East, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

The expansion at London Biggin Hill comes after Bombardier launched new facilities in Miami, Florida and Melbourne, Australia and a significantly expanded service centre in Singapore. That site is the largest OEM business aviation maintenance facility in Asia Pacific.

The Biggin Hill centre, the largest business jet MRO facility in the UK, offers heavy maintenance and modification capabilities, wheel and battery shops, a component paint shop and full-service interior finishing capacity for its family of Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft.

Bombardier has also announced a new partnership with Jetex as its preferred FBO provider at London Biggin Hill, with the company offering customers concierge services onsite.

In 2019, Bombardier signed an agreement with Jetex to establish a new line maintenance station in Dubai, providing enhanced service capabilities in the Middle East. The 3,000sqft facility, at Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport, is home to the OEM’s technical engineers, who are certified for all Challenger series and Global series business jets.