Ethiopian MRO Services Hits Leap-1B Engine Capability Milestone

The maintenance arm of Ethiopian Airlines has made further progress in expanding its CFM International Leap-1B MRO capabilities after completing its first performance restoration shop visit (PRSV) and testing on the narrowbody engine at its facility in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian MRO Services carried out the PRSV work and testing of the engine, the sole powerplant of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, at its designated test cell under approval from the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration earlier in August.

“This capability puts Ethiopian MRO among the very few MRO facilities which have achieved the testing capability of the Leap-1B engine,” Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said. “As we are growing our MRO services and expanding our capabilities, this is a milestone moment in the history of Ethiopian MRO.”

The company first inaugurated the Leap-1B test cell in July 2024—the first of its type in Africa outside of GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines’ internal networks—and commenced development of PRSV repairs. The Leap test cell added to the MRO’s other engine capabilities, which cover overhaul and testing for CFM56-7B and PW150 engines.

With PRSV MRO capability on the Leap-1B engine, Ethiopian MRO Services can restore the core major engine module after a period of operation. The business joins other MRO providers, such as Lufthansa Technik, ST Engineering and StandardAero, in holding PRSV capabilities for the Leap engine type.

In addition to engine MRO, Ethiopian MRO Services’ capabilities are comprised of line and base maintenance, component repairs, calibration services, structure and composite maintenance, engineering services and aircraft stripping and painting. The MRO also holds some in-house manufacturing capability for harnesses on 737, 747 and 777 aircraft supplied to Boeing.