Inside The Hangar: Aeroplex's Budapest MRO Facility

Established in 1992 in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, Aeroplex of Central Europe's headquarters is located close to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. The company was jointly owned by Lockheed Martin and defunct Hungarian airline Malev in a 50-50 partnership. Malev later acquired Lockheed's stake in 1998. Aeroplex became a state-owned entity in 2012 following the ceasing of Malev's operations. 

In 2016, the company underwent a reorganization plan focusing on growth and diversification of services including growing its line maintenance offering. Aeroplex CEO Arpad Demeny told Aviation Week Network earlier this summer that the state-owned company has a new seven-year strategy until 2030 focusing on business growth and further diversifying its service offerings. One potential new avenue is a focus on the manufacturing of metal parts initially for aviation before potentially diversifying into non-aviation industries.

Aeroplex has a total of 194,000 ft.² of hangar space for up to 12 maintenance lines in Budapest. Its line maintenance operation covers Airbus A320 family and A330 aircraft, along with Boeing 737 classic, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft.

Aeroplex's base maintenance capabilities are comprised of Boeing 737 classic/NG, 757, 767 and Airbus A320 family, A300 and A330 aircraft. Its most recent hangar addition happened in 2022, when Aeroplex added a new designated widebody facility. The 8,600 ft.² facility can accommodate 5-6 aircraft simultaneously. 

Pictured is one of two paint booths at Aeroplex's workshop in Budapest. The larger paint booth, measuring at 710 ft.², is set up to support parts from the base and line maintenance operations. The smaller paint booth, with a volume of 322 ft.², also has a paint mixing room and ergonomic downdraft sanding table. Aside from paint functions, some of its other workshop services include sheet metal, composites, interior, engine hardware and wheels and brakes, among others.

Investment into the site has been ongoing in other areas. Pictured is the machine shop, which underwent a complete modernization in February 2024. The cost of the investment was nearly €1 million ($1.1 million).
 

Zsolt Szabo, head of Aeroplex Aviation Institute (pictured) is overseeing the company's plans to expand its training offering. Later this year, Aeroplex will launch a Part 147 training center at its Budapest main base. 

The company has existing cooperations with local technical schools including a dual educational program with a local high school, which resulted in 30 students who already finished their education in the last two years and more than 60 students who will join the program this fall. Aeroplex has also built an educational partnership with Budapest University of Technology and Economics as a means of getting access to more technical talent.

Aeroplex also has an on-site logistics service in Budapest which covers purchasing, storage and shipping of parts. It also has a second warehouse operation in Debrecen. Components covered include OEM parts, used serviceable materials, exchange and single part sales.

Pictured are the new cranes and the roller conveyor system for the planned wheels and brakes repair shop at Aeroplex Component Repair Center. The facility, located around seven mi. from its main base, is currently undergoing construction and is set to open in October this year.

Once open, the 75,000 ft.² hub will help support the existing base maintenance operation and focus on maintenance for wheels and brakes, engine parts and composite structure repairs. According to Aeroplex, the wheels and brakes shop will have capacity to handle up to 20,000 wheels and 800 brakes, the engine parts shop will have capacity for up to 30,000 engine parts and the composites shop will be able to repair 1,000 composite structure parts per year.