Embraer Expands Support in Middle East and Africa

Embraer and EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering have signed a five-year agreement designating the MRO an authorized service center for the Embraer E170/190 series. The Cairo-based carrier was already an established Embraer flight-hour pool program customer. Under the terms of the agreement the MRO will provide routine checks and scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for EgyptAir Express and third-party E-Jets. EgyptAir will have access to Embraer's structure-specific repair solutions and extended databases and will be entitled to handle airframe and warranty issues on behalf of its customers. An Embraer spokeswoman told AIN EgyptAir Maintenance & Engineering is currently the only approved service center in the area authorized to work on the 52 E-Jets located in the Middle East but noted that additional approvals would be forthcoming as the region’s fleet grows. “We have Ogma in Portugal but EgyptAir is strategically located between Africa and the Middle East," she said. When questioned about recent unrest in Egypt, she said, "EgyptAir has given us guarantees that it is able to keep the service level as per our contractual requirements.”