MRO Memo: Vietnam Eyes More Maintenance Facilities
Airlines in Vietnam have long been forced to outsource large volumes of maintenance work outside the country due to a lack of domestic capabilities and capacity, but that situation looks set to change.
Airlines in Vietnam have long been forced to outsource large volumes of maintenance work outside the country due to a lack of domestic capabilities and capacity, but that situation looks set to change.
HAECO and Vietnamese company Sun Group are planning to build a $360 million maintenance facility at Van Don airport in Vietnam’s norther province of Quang Ninh.
HAECO CEO Richard Sell recently met with senior Vietnamese politicians to discuss the plan, after signing a memorandum of understanding with Sun Group and financial firm VinaCapital earlier in November.
Sell and the Vietnamese government discussed how to create favorable conditions around taxation, visas and human resources to support the project, according to Vietnamese news site VN Express.
Sun Group, meanwhile, is the owner of startup Sun Phu Quoc Airways, which launched operations at the beginning of November. The startup has already received its fourth narrowbody, a CFM Leap-powered Airbus A321neo, and plans to grow to roughly 25 aircraft by the end of next year.
If the new facility at Van Don materializes, it would complement development of MRO infrastructure elsewhere in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s new mega-hub, Long Thanh International Airport near Ho Chi Minh City, is set to open in 2026, in its first phase of development toward an ultimate target of 100 million passengers per year, which, on completion, will make it one of the world’s busiest airports.
In tandem with development of passenger operations, the airport is building maintenance capabilities to support local airlines, with LCC Vietjet recently breaking ground on its own MRO facility there.
In the summer, Vietjet won a government tender to develop part of a comprehensive aircraft maintenance complex at the Vietnam’s new mega-hub, Long Thanh International, near Ho Chi Minh City.
Once completed, the facility will cover two hangars capable of servicing 10 aircraft simultaneously.
Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines also has maintenance aspirations at Long Thanh. Subsidiary Vietnam Airlines Engineering Company (VAECO) is exploring with Korean Air the possibility of launching an MRO joint venture at the airport. Mooted capabilities include fuselage maintenance, component repair, cabin modification, technology transfer and technical training.
