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ADDIS ABABA—A sharp focus on data integration, ownership and system interoperability dominated discussions at the African Airlines Association’s inaugural Africa MRO conference here last week. Industry leaders warned that fragmented digital ecosystems are now the single biggest obstacle to scaling maintenance capabilities across the continent.
As African fleets expand and maintenance demand rises, the message from operators and OEMs was clear. Without centralized data systems, digital transformation will stall before delivering meaningful operational gains.
Executives from Embraer, Ethiopian Airlines and South African Airways Technical (SAAT) agreed on one key point: That Africa’s MRO sector has plenty of data, but lacks the structure needed to fully utilize it.
“Our cost-cutting measures, our reliability, our predictability of operations are going to be embedded around this digital transformation,” said Luyolo Ndlwana, head of commercial at SAAT.
Yet he cautioned that the industry’s ability to unlock that value depends on fixing its data backbone first.
Ndlwana highlighted the scale of the challenge: “The access to quality data is key, and if this is not executed properly, it becomes a stumbling block for the progress of [artificial intelligence].” He added that even recent system migrations have been delayed by poor data quality, with projects stretching years beyond schedule.
For OEMs, the issue is less about technology availability and more about how data flows across the value chain. Sergio Moura, services sales manager for Africa at Embraer, framed the problem as one of integration rather than innovation. “The discussion here is not really about the ownership of the data but how this data can be shared,” he said, pushing back on what he described as a persistent industry misconception.
Moura outlined a three-way data structure in which airlines generate operational data, OEMs hold design and algorithmic intelligence, and MROs manage execution and reliability data. The challenge is connecting these layers into a unified digital environment without creating proprietary bottlenecks. “We strongly believe that the ownership of the data belongs to the MRO and to the airlines,” he said, adding that OEMs must enable “an open, customer-centric, non-proprietary way to connect this data.”
That connectivity is already beginning to deliver tangible results.
Embraer cited new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven tools capable of predicting spare parts demand at the task level, enabling MROs to pre-position inventory and reduce costly aircraft-on-ground events. Such applications rely entirely on access to high-quality, shared datasets.
From the airline perspective, the need for integration is equally urgent. Ethiopian Airlines emphasized that the real issue is not the pace of technological advancement, but how effectively systems are utilized. The carrier highlighted that fragmented and unreliable data systems continue to disrupt aircraft delivery timelines and maintenance planning, underscoring the need for end-to-end digital visibility of components throughout their lifecycle.
Centralized platforms, standardized governance frameworks, and collaborative data-sharing models are emerging as the critical enablers. Without them, predictive maintenance, AI adoption and cost efficiencies will remain largely theoretical.
As the sector moves forward, striking the right balance between who owns data and who can access it will be critical. Discussions at the conference made it clear that ownership itself is not the main issue; the real advantage will go to those who can connect systems, share data effectively and use it at scale.
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