Vietnam Airlines Engineering Ltd Co (Vaeco), which will now be the country's largest firm specialising in airplane maintenance, officially opened its door yesterday.

Charter capital for the firm totals 420 billion dong (US$24 million), and it has received its VAR 145 aeroplane maintenance certificate to ensure operations will be adequate to meet domestic regulations.

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) Lai Xuan Thanh said: "Vaeco belongs to the development strategies of the national aviation industry in the coming future, because airplane maintenance is the backbone of the aviation industry."

Thanh added that domestic airlines needed to have their fleets serviced and maintained by foreign firms in the past due to a lack of local capacity for this work. He also promised CAAV would give support to help Vaeco become one of the best technical centres in the Asean region.

Vietnam Airlines general director Pham Ngoc Minh said: "Vaeco will provide technical aviation services for approximately 150 domestic aeroplanes till 2020 and also expand to servicing regional airlines."

Minh added: "The domestic aviation market has been affected seriously by the global economic crisis. However, this is the appropriate period for airlines to upgrade the quality of their training, servicing and facilities to prepare for a potential recovery market in coming years."

According to Vaeco, the company will be improving its technical system and will work towards getting certified at the international European standard which is EASA/FAR 145.

The standard is issued according to regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the aircraft maintenance sector, establishing the requirements to be met for approval for the maintenance of an aircraft and its components.

http://www.intellasia.net/news/articles/business/111259034.shtml

(Intellasia | Vietnamnews)