FRANKFURT—Turkish-German leisure carrier SunExpress is moving forward with plans to build a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) center for its growing Boeing 737-family fleet at its Antalya Airport base on Turkey’s southern coast.
“We will build a nine-bay hangar to handle line and base maintenance,” SunExpress CEO Marcus Schnabel told Aviation Week in Frankfurt on Oct. 20. “We are in the planning and approval phase; currently it looks like we will begin construction from the middle of next year.”
The MRO center is expected to be operational by fall 2029. “Perhaps we can speed this up,” Schnabel added. SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa Group and Turkish Airlines, will finance the project itself but did not provide more details. The carrier also plans to offer MRO capacity to third-party clients.
SunExpress had plans years ago to build its own hangar in Antalya, and in April 2022 the carrier outlined plans to resume efforts to build a five-bay hangar. “It was never built because the plan evolved into a larger hangar following the new Boeing order in 2023,” a SunExpress official confirmed to Aviation Week.
“We are also planning an engine shop for small-scale work [but] we will not be handling complex [engine maintenance] projects,” Schnabel said. “Currently we do line maintenance ourselves. Base maintenance is done, for example, by Turkish Technic.”
With Turkish Airlines having placed orders for up to 150 737 MAX recently, the opportunity is growing for SunExpress to perform future MRO work for the flag carrier as well.
To ensure enough technicians are available, SunExpress is collaborating with universities to attract students to work at the new facility.
SunExpress currently operates an in-service fleet of 55 737-800s and 28 737-8s, according to Aviation Week's Fleet Discovery database. Over the next several years, the carrier expects to take delivery of 64 aircraft—a mix of 737-8s and 737-10s.
Turkish Technic also plans a new MRO facility in Antalya and is currently evaluating whether it will serve short-haul or long-haul aircraft, according to Schnabel.
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