On location in Estonia: Airbus A320 Phase-in project

Air Worthy has brought its expertise to Estonia for a Phase-in project involving a European-operated Airbus A320 that’s undergoing a 3-month overhaul at Magnetic MRO's new hangar facility at Pärnu Airport.

Due to reaching capacity at its four hangars at the Estonian capital airport, the aircraft was relocated for its heavy maintenance, from Magnetic MRO’s main base at Tallinn Airport, to Pårnu. It’s the first major maintenance program at the new hangar operated by Magnetic MRO, completed in early 2023, and Air Worthy is overseeing the whole process, engaged on behalf of the operator. The extensive overhaul work will also involve close liaison with the lessor and airline, which is operating the aircraft on a wet lease.

Air Worthy’s scope of work includes:

• Aircraft records review and preparation
• Aircraft inspection including demonstration flight
• Maintenance check witnessing and supervision
• OIL (Open Item List) management

Commenting on the Phase-in project, Magnetic MRO operations manager, Jan Kotka, said it represented “An important and significant moment for Estonian aviation, across three key areas: The reconstruction of the airport in Pärnu, which took place in 2019, the new aircraft hangar, which was completed at the start of 2023, and now the arrival of larger passenger aircraft," adding that the company intends to carry out further maintenance jobs of this scale in other locations, in addition to its main base in Tallinn.

Pärnu Airport handling manager, Erki Teemägi, said that the arrival of the A320 is set to make that a more permanent occurrence.

"This aircraft will hopefully blaze the trail for the airport seeing more frequent use, so we can continue to see this kind of aircraft maintenance here."

The maintenance is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2024, whereupon the A320 will return to service, flying to destinations in Southern Europe.

Commenting on Air Worthy’s involvement, Accountable Manager, Gabriele Brescianino, said:

“Our extensive engineering knowledge has been acquired over many years by our team of specialist engineers and international network of approved technical representatives, so we are very pleased to bring this experience to this major Phase-in project in Estonia. By providing an outsourced solution that delivers client value, Air Worthy brings peace of mind that every aspect of the project is carefully and accurately managed.”