Medavia ventures into gas turbine engine repairs

The Safi-based aircraft charter and maintenance company Mediterranean Aviation Company Ltd (Medavia) has entered into a joint venture with an international consortium to set up Medavia Rotating Services, a new company to repair and overhaul gas turbine engines in Malta.

Medavia's managing director, Abdul Razak Zmirli said work on the repair facility should start in the coming days. The turbines are used in many parts of the world, particularly in North Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The new centre will be operational within three to four months.

He was speaking yesterday while welcoming Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami on a visit to the facility.

The modern workshops will include test facilities capable of carrying out full performance testing of all repaired equipment prior to delivery. Repairs and overhauls as well as upgrades on a number of major turbine brands will be carried out by internationally trained staff, Mr Zmirli said.

Medavia Rotating Services will employ 15 full time engineers.

Mr Zmirli said he was also looking forward to an opportunity to expand cooperation with Air Malta.

"We will not be competing with Air Malta but we will be complementing its services. We are a small operator and can control costs in a better way.

"Medavia may eventually become a feeder, in a commuter sense, in order to develop certain routes that Air Malta, by virtue of its size and type of aircraft, cannot serve," Mr Zmirli said.

Air Malta is a shareholder in Medavia.

Dr Fenech Adami said the company had managed to overcome difficulties and expand, making substantial progress in recent years. In fact, aircraft movements had more than doubled in the last three years.

Mr Zmirli said when asked about EU membership that though he did not expect obstacles to operations if Malta stayed out of the EU, Medavia was looking forward to membership since it already satisfied all European requirements.

"Membership can only bring more work and will afford us the opportunity to fly into European cities without obstacles," he said.

Medavia, a Maltese-registered joint venture between Malta and Libya, was set up in 1978 with the main objective to provide charter flights to companies in the oil industry.

However, Medavia used its extensive experience gathered over the years to diversify into other areas within the aviation industry and currently provides charter operations, executive air charters, aircraft management, and aircraft maintenance among other services. Medavia owns three aircraft.t employs 110 staff, 95 of whom are Maltese.