Jet operations at Subang Airport to start in third quarter of this year: Loke

SUBANG: Jet operations at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang (Subang Airport) are expected to commence in the third quarter of this year, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

“We are currently undergoing some renovations, and adjustments to the terminal that have been undertaken by MAHB. So, this is just for the initial phase for the first three years,“ he told reporters after the grand opening of ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia’s facility at Subang Airport today.

After the initial phase over the three years which involves the refurbishments, Loke said a new terminal is slated for construction which will replace the existing Sky Park terminal.

“The medium term (plan) will be building a new terminal in Subang. That is to replace the Sky Park terminal. That will take at least about three years to complete,” he added.

The minister said the new MRO centre perfectly aligns with the government’s Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP).

“The fact that we are standing here today, shows that the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan is already starting to successfully take shape and ready to take off,” he remarked.

The ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia facility is among several development projects under SARP.

Anchored on three key segments – aerospace, business aviation and city airport – one of the aims of SARP is to transform Subang Airport into a regional hub for business aviation.

ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, today unveiled its business aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre at Subang Airport for regional executive and private jets maintenance.

The facility covers 149,500 sq ft, making it Malaysia’s largest business aviation MRO centre. It is more than twice the size of ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia’s previous operation which opened in 2009 and serves business jet operators from across Asia.

ExecuJet MRO Services Group president Graeme Duckworth said the opening marks a pivotal moment for ExecuJet MRO Services’ presence in the region. “We are expanding support for operators of multiple aircraft brands across the region. The Subang facility is key to that strategy,” he added.

ExecuJet MRO Services Group started in South Africa in 1991 and then expanded internationally. Besides Malaysia and South Africa, it has MRO facilities in Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Belgium as well as a franchise in China.

ExecuJet MRO Services said it invests heavily in training its personnel to be internationally certified, so it is approved to perform line and heavy maintenance on aircraft registered with regional civil aviation authorities together with FAA and EASA, whether on Falcons, Bombardier and Gulfstream aircraft.

It said there is new training space at Subang to further these authorisations and grow the workforce.

Execujet MRO Services’ regional vice-president Asia Ivan Lim said the company expects to grow the Subang workforce from 84 to 100 by year-end and to continue growing over the next five years.