LOT’s technical arm reiterates commitment to new MRO complex

LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services has reiterated its commitment to building an extensive greenfield facility at Rzeszow in Poland, but will implement “optimisation processes” and seek savings to deal with fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, the MRO provider – a sister company of Polish state carrier LOT – disclosed a plan to establish a base maintenance complex with three hangars for narrow- and widebody aircraft at Rzeszow airport, with a target of servicing LOT and third-party aircraft from 2022. Noting that the project was launched amid predictions of dynamic aviation growth and “huge demand for MRO services”, LOTAMS acknowledges that “the current situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic changes these forecasts”, and expects to “feel negative effects in the near future”. The MRO provider’s president Aleksandra Juda foresees an economic slowdown, with the pandemic “possibly leading to recession for a short period”. But she argues that investment projects like the Rzeszow facility should have “priority” because they stimulate economic activity. LOTAMS says “it will be necessary to introduce optimisation processes and savings” to respond to the slowdown, but adds that the expansion represents an opportunity to “maintain staff and service capabilities”.<br/>