AMAC Invests in Self-sufficiency To Support the World’s VIP Jets

At first glance, the busy ramp outside AMAC Aerospace’s primary maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility has the look of a United Nations meeting. The apron and the five large hangars at EuroAirport near the Swiss city of Basel are habitually packed with 40 or more head-of-state and government airliners flown in for a mix of heavy checks and refurbishment work.

Since its foundation in 2007, the privately owned group has specialized in supporting larger VIP jets, with a strong client base across the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Aircraft bearing the flags of prominent Gulf states and monarchies, as well as those owned by governments of countries great and small, are common sights at the AMAC headquarters, alongside jets owned by a wide variety of charter and corporate operators.

In addition to the Basel site, which is actually in France, AMAC also has MRO facilities in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Bodrum. The group has a sales office in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

As part of its commitment to being self-sufficient and addressing the industry-wide supply chain and skills shortages, AMAC has invested heavily to ensure it covers most of the core MRO tasks. Specialist shops on site include composites, wiring, cabinetry, wood, and painting. These skills are supplemented by the company’s French subsidiary, JCB Aero, which has expertise in working with composite materials and producing honeycomb panels for cabins.

AMAC has recruited specialists from multiple countries and works with the university in the nearby French city of Mulhouse to source training in various engineering specialties and avionics. English is the working language at the Basel site, with tuition provided by a teacher from the UK.

For logistics operations, including moving technicians to support AOG situations, the company operates its own Pilatus PC-24 and PC-12 aircraft and is an official service center for the Swiss manufacturer. It holds multiple MRO approvals from aviation regulators worldwide and is proud to have been one of the first non-U.S. service providers to secure foreign repair station approval from the FAA.

In recent months, AMAC has reported a flurry of MRO activity in the corporate and VIP market. For instance, on September 26, it redelivered a Boeing 737 to its private operator after completing 1A, 2A, and 4A checks. In the same week, engineers performed an engine change on a Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft.

Other recently completed projects include 12-year inspections on a pair of Airbus ACJ319 aircraft. Work on the two Singapore-based aircraft also included the installation of an upgrade to the in-flight entertainment systems, refurbishment of the divans and carpet, and a new exterior paint job.

AMAC’s Basel team has conducted a 72-month inspection on a Gulfstream aircraft based in the Asia-Pacific region. It delivered three aircraft back to operators in Asia, which included another ACJ, a Boeing Business Jet, and a G450 from South Korea. In the first week of September, the facility handled multiple scheduled inspections on a Bombardier Challenger 605 model.

More MRO Capacity in Turkey

The company’s facility at Bodrum in Turkey splits its MRO capacity between work on VIP and business aircraft during the summer months and commercial airliner support in the winter. It recently completed a 12-year inspection for a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) in a project that included the installation of an all-new cabin interior and the addition of an auxiliary fuel tank in the center section of the fuselage. Before the end of September, the company expects to finish a 12-year inspection on another BBJ.

At Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, AMAC operates another MRO facility. This specializes in supporting Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24 aircraft, as well as Dassault Falcon jets, with recent jobs including engine repairs on a Falcon 900EX EASy, decontaminating the fuel system on a Falcon 7X, and defect rectification and inspections on a Falcon 2000EX EASy.

The Istanbul facility is completing a C inspection for a Falcon 2000, which is also receiving an extensive cabin makeover and a new exterior paint. A trio of heavy maintenance checks on Falcons conducted by AMAC’s Turkish engineers this year also includes the recarpeting of a 900EX EASy model with the support of the company’s French subsidiary JCB Aero.

Since October 2024, JCB Aero has expanded its MRO capability beyond cabin completions and refurbishment. It recently acquired Kreative Engineering Services to increase its capabilities, which include 3D printing and a four-axis CNC machine.

AMAC’s UK-based IT division Gamit is further developing its Records Online Asset Management (ROAM) tool to help aircraft operators predict maintenance needs. The system automates the analysis of data from fleets and engineering processes to identify performance patterns to forecast parts failures before these disrupt operations.

The ROAM technology uses optical character recognition backed by artificial intelligence and a metadata platform that standardizes the format of legacy records that can be integrated with leading maintenance management software. It generates alerts that flag underperforming parts based on variance from mean time between failures, average lifespans, and maintenance incidents.