Lufthansa Technik to create 550 new jobs

Lufthansa Technik is set to invest up to E60 million in Malta on new aircraft maintenance facilities to handle large Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.

Subject to the finalisation of a new collective agreement with trade unions, the facility should be up and running as early as 2008 and will eventually create 550 new jobs, the German company said.

Lufthansa Technik already has a subsidiary in Malta to perform C-checks on smaller A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft but the new facility will be its first outside Germany for the larger aircraft.

The new investment will be undertaken by the mother company, increasing its majority stake in Lufthansa Tecknik Malta.

Public Investment Minister Austin Gatt welcomed the decision and said the company would be building a 27,000 m2 hangar to perform regular C-checks on A330 and A340 long-haul aircraft as well as overhauls, known as D-checks.

The hangar will also be among the first in the world which could accommodate the new Airbus A380 superjumbo. It will be built by Malta Industrial Parks and rented to Lufthansa Technik Malta for 30 years.

Dr Gatt said this investment decision underlined the confidence which Lufthansa Technik was placing in Malta and its Maltese subsidiary.

The decision came Malta's way despite intense competition from other parts of the world and it was especially significant because Airbus A340 aircraft did not operate to Malta regularly, he said.

Essential for the success of the project were the company's links with the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast), which had agreed to create training courses for aviation maintenance technicians. At present, Lufthansa Technik Malta sponsors over 50 apprentices undergoing training at Mcast.

Louis Giordimaina, CEO of Luft-hansa Technik Malta, said the investment had come about after three years of hard work.

"The outstanding quality and service of our team has given us the chance to go for new business opportunities. We are totally aware that our customers not only expect the best performance from Lufthansa Technik Malta but also the best price," he said.

Lufthansa Technik Malta currently employs 150 personnel.

It opened a second production line early this year and services Lufthansa and Air Malta aircraft as well as aircraft from other airlines. To date it has carried out over 200 C-checks.