easyJet Europe (EC, Vienna) and airport operator Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH (FBB) have signed a lease agreement to construct a dedicated maintenance hangar for the budget carrier’s European fleet at Berlin Brandenburg International Airport, the parties announced.
The project, construction of which is scheduled to start in autumn 2021, will bring easyJet’s total investment at the German gateway to EUR20 million (USD23.5 million), including the carrier’s existing line maintenance station, which opened last year, where work is carried out on the apron.
Scheduled to open at the beginning of 2023, the new hangar will be easyJet’s first facility of its kind outside of the UK, underlining the strategic importance of its Berlin base and strong partnership with FBB, the companies announced in a joint statement.
“With the new hangar, easyJet will ensure smooth maintenance and servicing operations, including unscheduled work, for its European fleet (Austrian AOC), improving operational efficiency and saving maintenance costs in the long term,” the airline said. easyJet has stationed its aircraft in the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region since 2004.
The partners will build the easyJet hangar in the new maintenance area of Berlin Brandenburg, covering 11,500 sqm, of which the hangar alone will take up 10,000 sqm. It will provide enough space for light base maintenance repair work to be done on four A321-size aircraft at a time.
The project is being implemented jointly by easyJet and FBB. Construction application documents have been submitted and are currently in the approval phase. The airport company will assume responsibility for construction site installation, earthworks around the building foundations, and infrastructure connection. FBB's investment share and the use of space by easyJet will be refinanced by rental payments from the airline to the airport company. easyJet will assume responsibility for the construction design, hangar superstructure, and technical facilities.
“Having already opened our maintenance station in 2020, the construction of the hangar is now the logical next step and a sign of the future viability of our location at BER,” commented Stephan Erler, easyJet's Country Manager Germany.
