The first aircraft maintenance project has begun at the new Aeroplex base at Băneasa Airport in Bucharest, in collaboration with the Romanian company ROMAERO S.A. The facility was officially inaugurated by Márton Nagy, Hungary’s Minister of Economic Development, Radu Oprea, Romania’s Minister of Economy, the N7 Ltd., and the leadership of both aircraft maintenance companies.
Aeroplex’s new base at Bucharest Băneasa Airport is now operational, with the first project being the hangar maintenance of a Boeing 737 aircraft.
Aeroplex, directly owned by the state through N7 Ltd., signed a cooperation agreement with ROMAERO on 17 May 2024. Under this agreement, the Hungarian company is extending its activities and utilizing ROMAERO’s infrastructure, facilities, equipment, and skilled workforce at Băneasa Airport to perform maintenance for Aeroplex customers.
In the first phase of the cooperation, from October 2024 to March 2025, the maintenance will be carried out under a service contract, under the authorization and management of Aeroplex, initially on one then two production lines. The aim of the two companies is to expand the Bucharest base to three production lines by the end of next year by attracting skilled Romanian staff from abroad. Long-term options include the creation of a joint venture.
Romania has 17 international airports and 11 airlines. Entering this new market represents a unique growth opportunity for Aeroplex. With a regional market presence and shortened logistics chains, the Hungarian company will be able to serve many new customers and compete in tenders that it has not been able to do before. This is confirmed by the number of enquiries and potential orders.
In addition to the opening of the new maintenance base in Bucharest, Aeroplex plans to establish additional logistics centres in several locations in Romania, including Târgu Mures and Cluj Napoca, as part of its regional expansion strategy.
In his opening speech,Márton Nagy, Hungary’s Minister of National Economy, said, “Aviation has an increasing role in strengthening the economic connectivity and competitiveness of countries, which requires high quality aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. This also represents new markets and an outstanding growth opportunity for Aeroplex.” He added: “The operation of the base in Bucharest will contribute to the growth of Hungarian exports and thus to the further improvement of our country’s trade balance.”
Árpád Demény, CEO of Aeroplex, emphasized, “The opening of the Bucharest base represents a unique growth path for Aeroplex and fits perfectly into our company’s growth strategy, which aims to strengthen our regional presence and expand our customer base.” He added: “The start of the maintenance of the first aircraft was preceded by several months of preparation work to ensure that Aeroplex can offer the same high quality service to its customers at the Bucharest base as it does in Budapest. The Bucharest operation is expected to generate an increase in exports of 3-4 million Euros for Aeroplex and the Hungarian state in the coming year alone.”