IAI to establish passenger/cargo aircraft conversion center in Ethiopia

The Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) group has signed an agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to construct a conversion site for Boeing 767-300 passenger aircraft. The new passenger-to-freight transfer center, which will operate from the company’s maintenance center in Addis Ababa, will provide solutions to the growing demand for cargo aircraft of these models. The Ethiopia transfer line will join the existing transfer sites that IAI operates at its campuses at Ben Gurion International Airport and in Mexico. The MRO Center of Ethiopian Airlines is approved by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The new site will be the largest and most advanced in Africa. The conversion site will provide solutions in the conversion of passenger aircraft to cargo formations, aircraft maintenance and refurbishment, personnel training and orientation, as well as assistance in obtaining certification and licensing. “We are seeing a sharp rise in demand for cargo aircraft as a result of the rise in e-commerce, which has peaked at record levels during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Yossi Melamed, General Manager of IAI EVP and General Manager of Aviation Group. We are constantly receiving requests to open these transfer centers in more and more locations around the world. I am excited about the opening of the current center in Ethiopia, and I thank my colleagues at Ethiopian Airlines for the trust they have placed in IAI Aviation Group, as the world leader in transfers.” Ethiopian Air, Tewolde Gebre Mariam: “In line with Vision 2025’s diversified aviation business model, we have increased our fleet cargo capacity, ground service infrastructure and cargo delivery network. Accordingly, we partner with IAI, one of the global technology leaders in the aviation industry, In the construction of a Cargo Transfer Center at our MRO facilities at Addis Ababa Airport.The Cargo Transfer Center will begin its first operations with three B-767-300 aircraft of Ethiopian Airlines Beh. Cargo Transfer Center at ADD HUB Airport will expand its services to all airlines in Africa and the wider region. We are very pleased to be able to collaborate with IAI to enable us to expand our freight forwarding and logistics services, which is already the largest and leading freight network in the world. Africa. Capacity building will also help us expand our maintenance, repair and labor services through cutting edge technology and knowledge transfer.” Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – August 19, 2021 © Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021