Mesa has officially opened its new hangar at the civil terminal in Portugal’s Beja Airport. The company, which is part of the Hi Fly group, will maintain Airbus aircraft there [A319s, A320s, A321s, A330s, A340s and A350s].

The facilities cover an area of about 9,500sq m for aircraft maintenance, including workshops, a warehouse, offices, training facilities and other support premises.

Mesa invested about €30 million in the hangar and said it would operate 24/7. The hanger serves as a base maintenance unit for Hi Fly’s Airbus fleet, as well as for other airlines which have maintenance contracts with the company.

Up to three aircraft can be worked on at a time. Capabilities include A checks, C checks, cabin interior upgrades and modifications, engine replacement and landing gear replacement, hydraulics tests, defects correction and troubleshooting, SBs, ADs, MPD and out phase tasks modifications, engine borescope inspections and workshop works such as: batteries, IFE, oxygen, cabin interiors, electrical equipment, torque wrenches and measurements.

Hi Fly and Mesa’s president Paulo Mirpuri commented: “Beja is a prime location for aircraft maintenance, and with this additional capacity we hope not only to keep up with the strong growth of Hi Fly’s fleet but also to acquire new customers mainly from Europe and Africa.

“It’s a big project for the group and we’re looking forward to welcoming our fleet to this fantastic facility.”