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Direct Maintenance Secures MRO Deal with China Southern Airlines in Africa

A China Southern Airbus A380 on approach into Los Angeles. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

With over five years since signing their first partnership deal together, Direct Maintenance and China Southern Airlines said they have extended their cooperation to areas of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO). The agreement allows Direct Maintenance to take over full technical handling of the operator’s fleet line maintenance services in Nairobi, Kenya.

Jacco Klerk, Managing Director at Direct Maintenance, noted, “This is the first time a Chinese aircraft has been fully handled by an authorized third-party line maintenance provider in Africa.”

“Direct Maintenance has won a spontaneous recognition from China Southern’s team and their supervisors, by efficient and high-calibre line maintenance services, its rapid and independent emergency response mechanism, and customized exclusive service plans as well, which laid a solid foundation for the strengthened cooperation between China Southern Airlines and Direct Maintenance,” said Alfred Wang, Customer Service Manager at Direct Maintenance.

According to Wang, Direct Maintenance is the only line maintenance provider holding FAA Repair Station approval in Kenya and various other African countries. The company also was the first ever to support Boeing 787 line maintenance in Kenya.

Since 2015, Direct Maintenance has provided line maintenance technical support and related logistics services for the Airbus A330 on the Changsha-Nairobi route for China Southern Airlines.

“I am very pleased with the recent extension of the partnership with China Southern as it is a great indicator of the mutual trust between two companies which has been developing ever since our cooperation in Nairobi started in 2015. It is also an important milestone for both our team in NBO as well as to the whole company, and we are excited to start this new chapter,“ noted Mandeep Rana, Head of Sales at Direct Maintenance.

Direct Maintenance is a certified line maintenance service provider and part of Magnetic MRO. The Dutch Magnetic MRO provides a range of line maintenance services for narrow- and wide-body aircraft, including Airbus A340, A380 and A350 as well as Boeing 747, 777 and 787 types. The company also supports Embraer 170/190 and McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 aircraft types.

Direct Maintenance’s network includes eight countries and over 20 different locations in Europe and Africa serving national flag carriers and major leisure airlines from Europe, the Middle East, the USA, Asia and Africa.

In February 2019, Magnetic MRO, a China-owned provider of aircraft technical care based in Estonia completed the acquisition of Direct Maintenance. The deal allowed the transfer of 100% of Direct Maintenance’s shares from its previous owner Ireland-based Direct Aviation Group to Magnetic MRO.

Victor Shalton

Author

  • Victor Shalton

    Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Victor’s love for aviation goes way back to when he was 11-years-old. Living close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, he developed a love for planes and he even recalls aspiring to be a future airline executive for Kenya Airways. He also has a passion in the arts and loves writing and had his own aviation blog prior to joining AirlineGeeks. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration at DeKUT and aspiring to make a career in a more aviation-related course.

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