Heston MRO has agreed to purchase the Cairns-based facility operated by Jet Aviation, where it will grow its services into full heavy maintenance for regional aircraft.

The Australian maintenance provider says the transaction will mean that in addition to heavy MRO services, the facility will also offer avionics repairs across a broader range of aircraft types. It expects to complete the purchase by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The facility has been in operation for more than 20 years and, before Jet Aviation, was run by Hawker Pacific. It was expanded in 2018 and now has a volume of around 5,200 ft.²

Around 150 staff are employed at the site, where work is carried out for Australian customers as well as customers from the surrounding Asia-Pacific region.

“We are excited to add the Cairns facility to the Heston MRO family," says Jonas Butautis, director and partner at Heston MRO. “Over the last couple of years our company has been looking for the best options [for] how to expand into heavy maintenance and components repairs in Australia.” 

Butautis adds that Heston MRO decided to make the acquisition after undertaking analysis of the Cairns facility, which included reviewing the hangar’s staff, range of capabilities and growth potential.

Once complete, it will offer line, base, components and engines MRO capabilities, as well as technical training and other additional services under the Heston MRO brand. “With selected services we will be able to cover the full suite of aircraft types, from smaller regionals like ATR and Dash 8 Q400, narrowbodies like [Boeing] 737 and [Airbus] A320s, to large widebodies like 777, 787, A350, and A380s,” Butautis says.

Cairns will become Heston MRO’s tenth location in Australia. With its headquarters in Brisbane, the company also has a presence in Adelaide, Avalon, Coolangatta, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Toowoomba and Wagga Wagga.