Ryanair announces new €20 million maintenance facility to service aircraft

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair is set to service some of its aircraft in Malta at a new maintenance and overhaul facility next to Malta International Airport (MIA).

The announcement was made during a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson stated that operations will commence in October with one maintenance bay.

While it will initially employ 20 people, the project will gradually grow to have 250 employees.

The project’s first phase will see the carrier operate from an existing hangar, before proceeding to use a new three-bay hangar instead.

Mr Wilson remarked that Ryanair wants to “cement” its relationship with Malta, given that the company already has its own subsidiary airline locally, Malta Air, and operated from here to 62 destinations.

This is set to become the fourth maintenance and overhaul facility in Malta, after Lufthansa Teknik, SRT Malta and Medavia’s ones, all located in the vicinity of MIA.

Aircraft maintenance services in Malta grew in prominence after Lufthansa opened its large facility in 2003, while Ryanair competitor Easyjet started servicing its aircraft in Malta in 2016 at SR Teknik.

The Ryanair group has around 500 aircraft under its control.

Mr Wilson thanked Malta Enterprise (ME) for facilitating the investment, adding that ME made it as easy as working in Ireland.

The investment was welcomed by Prime Minister Robert Abela, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri, as well as Energy and Industry Minister Miriam Dalli.

Mr Schembri said that this was a testament to how much of an attractive investment destination Malta is.

Dr Abela added that this is a milestone in the Malta’s aviation sector, as well as a vote of confidence in Maltese workers, with the Government being committed to boosting educational institutions to address the skills gap and provide enough workers for the industry.