Emirates opens Dh1.3 billion engineering centre

Dubai: Emirates on Wednesday announced the opening of its Dh1.3 billion engineering centre on a 55-hectare site on the north side of Dubai International Airport.

The new state of the art facility was officially opened by Shaikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Group.

“The centre is capable of supporting the maintenance requirements of burgeoning fleet of Emirates and other airlines flying through Dubai,'' Shaikh Ahmed said.

Emirates recently placed $35 billion worth of aircraft order. “We are experiencing an unprecedented rate of growth adding more than one new aircraft to the fleet every month. With high utilisation of our fleet, the engineering team has the challenge of supporting the busy operating schedule,'' said Adel Al Redha, executive vice president of Emirates Engineering and Operations.

The centre has eight hangars; each measuring 110 by 105 meters can handle all types of aircraft, including the Airbus A380.

With the growing demand for engineering services, Emirates has plans to add four more hangar to the existing facilities in the Dubai International Airport, said Bob Lunn, Emirates' vice president, Engineering Facilities.