France, an Ideal Partner in Achieving the Kingdom’s Aviation Goals
Riyadh — The Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) sector in Saudi Arabia is of paramount importance in developing the country’s aviation and aerospace industry. Its significance reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to progress and advancement in the aviation sector, contributing to strengthening its position as a key player regionally and internationally.
Given the importance of this sector, Business France, the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy is organizing a symposium titled “French-Saudi MRO Days: How to Make Saudi Arabia the Central Hub for Maintenance, Repair, and Operations in the Region as part of Vision 2030?” in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Logistics Services, the National Industry Development and Logistics Program “NIDLP,” and the General Authority of Civil Aviation. This symposium, scheduled for March 3rd in Riyadh at Crowne Plaza – The Digital City, is part of a visit by a French delegation comprising 20 specialized companies in the MRO sector to discuss challenges and growth opportunities in this field.
The conference will address various topics, including supporting Vision 2030 for this sector and ways to collaborate between French and Saudi sides to achieve this new working strategy that aims to make Saudi Arabia the central hub for MRO operations in the region.
This symposium aims to highlight the latest developments and innovations in this vital field. It will bring together experts from various Saudi companies such as Saudi Airlines, Riyadh Airports Company, Dammam Airports Company, among others, to discuss challenges and growth opportunities in this sector. This initiative reflects France’s commitment to enhancing international cooperation and knowledge exchange in strategically important sectors.
France is a leading country in this sector in Europe, as well as globally. In this context, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) plays a key role as a comprehensive technical support provider for over 200 clients and more than 3,000 aircraft worldwide.
Considering the substantial investments in airlines, MRO capacities and human resources, AFI KLM E&M has shown a strong interest in the Saudi MRO market, which is a crucial component of the aviation industry in the Kingdom.
Pierre Teboul, Senior Vice President Commercial at AFI KLM E&M, emphasized that as part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, significant growth is expected in MRO expenses, along with a substantial increase in aircraft numbers in the region.
In this context, AFI KLM E&M is keen on sharing its expertise to accompany the main Saudi MRO stakeholders in the Kingdom during their industrial development phase, and to support any type of partnership or cooperation that aligns with this dynamic it operates within.
Another partner of the French MRO Days, DEDIENNE AEROSPACE, a worldwide leader in GSE, engine and aircraft tooling for civil and defence sectors, is actively keen to contribute in the Development of the MRO sector in the kingdom.
A first milestone in this journey is the official opening in March 2024 of DEDIENNE AEROSPACE ARABIA in the kingdom throughout the 1st services center located in SMART CITY JEDDAH to support both civil and defence activities.
In this regard, Antoine Ghosn, Dedienne Aerospace CEO SERVICES Services highlights that this service center will provide local one stop shop tooling full services (certification, upgrades, repairs, training) to Saudi customers. This proximity will guarantee high availability of tooling park, short Turn Around lead Time, support on AOG situations and reduced logistics costs. This will allow Airlines and MROs actors in the kingdom to focus on their main activities: tooling availability will no more be an issue.
We believe that owning tooling should be easy and funny. It should leave customers stressless and focusing on their operations while speeding up performance and contributing to safety within extending tooling lifetime. We also believe that everyone has the right to have the best equipment and the related services and support.
Mr. Ghosn confirms that this step is just the beginning of a long journey for the company in the kingdom as another service center opening in the kingdom is planned by 2025.
