China Southern Airlines and Direct Maintenance have extended a partnership agreement.

The Magnetic MRO company will take over full technical handling of the operator’s fleet line maintenance services in Nairobi, Kenya.

“This is the first time a Chinese aircraft has been fully handled by an authorised third-party line maintenance provider in Africa,” said Direct Maintenance’s managing director Jacco Klerk.

Direct Maintenance has provided line maintenance technical support and related logistics services for A330s on the Changsha-Nairobi route for China Southern Airlines since 2015.

Direct Maintenance’s customer service manager Alfred Wang commented: “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 customised exclusive service plans as well, which laid a solid foundation for the strengthened cooperation between China Southern Airlines and Direct Maintenance.”