Storm Taps Revived A330 Market With Heavy Checks

A year after moving its base maintenance operations to Scotland, British MRO provider Storm Aviation has added Airbus A330 checks to its roster of heavy maintenance capabilities at the site.

The FL Technics subsidiary has received EASA Part 145 approval for base maintenance of the A330 at its Glasgow Prestwick hangar, where it already offers six-year checks for the A320, Boeing 737 and 787.

“The Airbus A330 is the second-most-delivered widebody airliner in the world, and being able to provide base maintenance services for this airframe gives us a competitive advantage,” Storm Aviation CEO Thomas Buckley said.

“Thanks to this expansion of our service portfolio, we can serve a broader range of operators and leasing companies looking for a strategically located, EASA-certified maintenance partner in the UK.”

New widebody delivery delays and the stuttering development of the 777X have kept the A330 in demand, with more than 1,000 A330s still in service. 

The type suffered a collapse in its popularity among airlines during the pandemic, which saw freighter conversions become a bigger source of demand for the A330. However, this has since changed as passenger airlines have asked for lease extensions or snap up off-lease aircraft, which in turn has led to a relatively tight market for used serviceable material as teardowns have slowed.

Storm said its Prestwick facility is equipped to handle heavy checks, lease return transitions, and complex structural work on the A330.

Aviation Week Network’s Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast 2025 shows 1,048 A330-200 and -300 types in service this year across the passenger and freighter markets, with more than half between 10 and 16 years of age.  

Just under a third of the fleet is operated by European carriers.