Business | Aviation
GAS plans to set up facility in Abu Dhabi
Global Aviation Services (GAS) plans to invest 30 million euros over the next two years at its Abu Dhabi facility which includes production of aircraft cabin interiors, equipment as well as aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, its chief executive officer, said yesterday.
- By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:31 March 4, 2008
- ADAC and GAS sign pact Mazroui and Oncu exchange documents after signing the agreement in Abu Dhabi.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: Global Aviation Services (GAS) plans to invest 30 million euros over the next two years at its Abu Dhabi facility which includes production of aircraft cabin interiors, equipment as well as aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, its chief executive officer, said yesterday.
"We have already invested 5.7 million euros towards machinery and training of staff," GAS CEO Zeydan Oncu told a news conference here, shortly after signing a deal with Abu Dhabi Airport Company (ADAC), which will enable it open a facility at the Abu Dhabi international airport, shortly.
GAS's permanent facility is to be built with the support of ADAC in the Abu Dhabi Free Zone, which will come up within the next one year, Oncu said.
Access point
GAS will use its Abu Dhabi facility to access the fast expanding Middle East aircraft servicing market. It is expected that over the next five years, about 1,000 new aircraft will join the fleet of various Middle East carriers.
"We hope to break even within three years of starting operations in Abu Dhabi," said Oncu, adding that GAS plans to move most of its operations to Abu Dhabi from the UK, Turkey and Germany, shortly, through a smooth transition process.
GAS's Abu Dhabi facility will produce a wide range of cabin equipment and parts, including design and production of galley, crew rest compartments, stair house, bars, seat parts, military aircraft interiors, composite parts, and material supplies.
Ideal location
"We will provide complementary and supplementary services," said Oncu.
"Abu Dhabi international airport is an ideal location for establishing a service hub catering to this segment of the market. The airport's unique location at the centre of international routes will enable us to provide a timely, world-class service to a growing number of airlines," he added.
"We will provide an efficient environment for customer-service orientation that will enable GAS to grow. They should be able to begin their operations here in a couple of weeks," said Khalifa Al Mazroui, ADAC's chairman and managing director.
ADAC took over the operation and management of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain international airports on Sep-tember 28, 2006.
Under its mandate is the redevelopment and expansion of Abu Dhabi international airport, which includes the new midfield terminal, designed to increase the overall capacity of the airport to 20 million passengers by 2011.
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