newstodate.aero

Aug 15, 2023 (newstodate): Member of Lithuania's Aviation Solutions Group, FL technics is strengthening its presence in the Americas with establishment of a new MRO infrastructure in Punta Cana International Airport, the second-busiest airport in the Caribbean.
   When construction of the first phase of the new facility is completed in 2025, ASG will be operating five bays for base maintenance operations, including a complex of full-fledged supporting shops.  
   Including the hangar and bays facility of 20,000 m2, the total area of the new infrastructure will be 52,000 m2.
   The Punta Cana project is also designed for future development as the infrastructure includes plans for an additional seven bays in the second phase totaling a hub of 12 bays, providing a significant addition to the capacity of base maintenance slots in the growing region.
   With a physical MRO hub in the region, FL Technics is aiming to support the growing fleet of narrow-body aircraft operated in the Americas, as the company will leverage its global expertise and Part-145 capabilities certified by FAA and EASA.  
   The company plans to provide both base and line maintenance services in the new hub.
   Since 2021, another member of the ASG, Avion Express Malta is also active in the Americas.
  On June 12, 2021, the carrier performed its first passenger flights from Miami to Punta Cana with an Airbus A321 aircraft, joined by a second A321 aircraft on flights to the Dominican Republic.
   The operations are performed under an ACMI agreement between Avion Express Malta and the Dominican airline Sky Cana signed in May 2020, with the first of the two aircraft delivered in Sky Cana's livery in November 2020.
   Later the cooperation has been expanded with the addition of a third Airbus A321 aircraft from Avion Express Malta, and with this Sky Cana opened its first scheduled flights from Punta Cana to New York from December 15, 2021.
   Avion Express Malta applied for Foreign Air Carrier Permits and Exemption Authority by the US regulator DOT on July 3, 2019, and was granted rights on August 22, 2019, opening up for new business potentials as a provider of ACMI narrow-body services in the US market.