Bulgarian MRO Gets Go-Ahead For Burgas Expansion

Bulgarian MRO specialist ETG Maintenance has outlined plans to build a new hangar at Burgas Airport on the Black Sea after reaching a deal with the Bulgarian orthodox church to secure land at the site.

The project includes a multi-bay hangar complex capable of housing widebody and narrowbody aircraft, dedicated maintenance and repair shops, and a new paint facility.

ETG Maintenance will invest a total of €61 million ($64 million) in the new project, which the company says will be completed within the next three years. The project is expected to create 500 jobs in its initial phase and—once at full capacity—close to 1,500 new roles.

Another part of the project is an engine repair shop in Burgas, which will cost around €15 million.

“This expansion is a natural step in ETG Maintenance’s continuous growth over the past years. We have proven our expertise and reliability, and this new facility will allow us to serve our current and future clients at an even higher level with increased capacity and capabilities,” said Stefan Trifonov, CEO of ETG Maintenance.

The MRO provider currently offers base maintenance for current-generation Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families, and for the MD-80, from its hangar at Varna Airport. It also has a component repair shop in Sofia.

The combined value of airframe and component maintenance for 737NGs and the A320ceo family in Eastern Europe will rise to almost $800 million next year, according to Aviation Week Network’s Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast 2025, after which it will fall gradually to under $500 million by 2034.

ETG Maintenance is part of Israeli company Vector Group, which also owns charter and ACMI operator Elektra Airways, charter broker Classic Air and midlife to late-life lessor Maverick Horizon.

The MRO provider appears to benefit from synergies within this group and from its Israeli connections. In February, it performed a C check on a narrowbody for Israeli LCC Arkia Airways, carried out as part of a package deal with sister company Maverick Horizon.