Gallery: STS Aviation's Revamped Birmingham Hangar

Open For Business

The former Monarch Aircraft Engineering facility was acquired by STS Aviation Group in late 2019 and opened for in the early part of 2020.

Gaining The First Commercial Approvals

Six months after acquiring the 120,000 sq.ft hangar in April 2020, STS Aviation gained approval from the UK’s CAA regulator to conduct base maintenance operations at the site. Initially, this encompassed work on Airbus A320 family, A330 and Boeing 737NG and 757 aircraft. Capabilities included aircraft modifications services, structural repairs, engine changes, A checks, C checks, lease transition and bridging checks. Later in the year, maintenance approval for Boeing 787 aircraft was also added.

Birmingham Will Also Be Home To Military MRO Work

In summer 2020, the company announced a largescale military MRO project with the UK Royal Air Force for its fleet of Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning MK1 aircraft. This agreement led to the hiring of 60 aircraft maintenance professionals in Birmingham to support the conversion work. Approximately 30 Boeing employees will be based in Birmingham to work on the five-year program.

Commercial, Military Split

The Boeing agreement is a five-year contract that will comfortably take up 50% of the Birmingham hangar’s capacity, with the remaining capacity available for the commercial sector.

Workshop Investment

Attaining the Military Aviation Authority-145 accreditation meant building a lot of infrastructure with the hangar segregated into two areas; one for commercial work and the other for military but both with extensive workshop capabilities. We had planned to do all these things in Birmingham, but perhaps not as quickly as we did.

Headcount Increases

Having started the operation with just a handful of employees, the increase in maintenance work has meant a rapid growth in staff numbers in Birmingham. In both touch labor and certifying engineers roles, this stood at about 70 to 80 people at the end of 2020, with overall staff surpassing 100.

Plans For 2021

The new year will see the first line of C-check line of commercial maintenance begin, while STS's fuel tank specialist unit in Shannon will collaborate with the Birmingham teams to undertake tank-related work. Line maintenance is also a focus for the company, with Birmingham being one of the latest locations it has opened across its European network.