Kaunas Aircraft Maintenance Services (KAMS), the aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) subsidiary of Ryanair, Europe’s largest air carrier, is doubling its capacity. The company’s new EUR 20 million investment project saw two new aircraft maintenance hangars opened at Kaunas Airport. In addition, the Irish airline will fly 4 new routes from Kaunas this summer and add another aircraft to its Kaunas base.
The new 8,000 sqm building with two hangars is equivalent to six Olympic swimming pools and has been designed according to the latest standards for aircraft servicing and maintenance. The project will create more than 200 new jobs, including a significant number of positions for highly skilled engineers and aircraft mechanics.
KAMS currently has 400 employees. Established in 2013, the company has been responsible for winter and summer checks of Ryanair’s fleet. With the opening of two new hangars, KAMS will now be able to double its capacity for aircraft inspections, allowing up to 4 aircraft to be serviced at one time.
Elijus Čivilis, General Manager of Invest Lithuania, notes that Kaunas has already become the largest aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) cluster in the Baltics, and is bound to continue to grow in the future.
Aušrinė Armonaitė, Lithuanian Minister of the Economy and Innovation, says that Ryanair’s new investment will create many high-income jobs in Kaunas:
“As the European aviation sector is closing in on pre-pandemic levels, Lithuania will support the continent’s largest carrier in meeting the increasing demand for aircraft maintenance and repair. The new investments will not only create numerous jobs for local aviation specialists, but also increase the overall competitiveness of the Kaunas Airport and further consolidate its position as the regional leader in MRO services.”
Committed to future growth and investment in Kaunas, Ryanair also announced 4 new routes. Throughout the summer season, the airline will fly passengers from Kaunas to Berlin, Milan Bergamo, Pisa and Zadar airports. To support the record schedule of 28 routes, Ryanair is adding one more aircraft to the two currently based at Kaunas Airport. This means an additional USD 100 million investment that will support more than 1,250 jobs in the region, including well-paid positions for pilots, cabin crew and engineers.
„I can say it clearly that Kaunas is becoming the region’s unstoppable hub for MRO services,” Marius Skuodis, Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications, says. “Kaunas Airport is already the leading provider of MRO services in the Baltic region, and this position will undoubtedly be further strengthened. This is the result of consistent airport activity and the implementation of the Aviation Roadmap 2035, developed together with the aviation community“.
Simonas Bartkus, Director General of Lithuanian Airports, believes that the new project is in line with Kaunas Airport’s strategic goals.
