LOT Aircraft Maintenance Services (LOTAMS) is planning to start the building of a new aircraft widebody maintenance hangar in Jasionka, Poland in the first quarter of next year.

Stage one of the investment, which is undisclosed, will see the building of a hangar for base maintenance which will have a usable area of 3,700 sq.ft. The company is targeting the first delivery of aircraft by mid-2023 and the hangar will add to its existing facilities in Warsaw.

The project is currently in the planning phase and LOTAMS’ owner the Polish Aviation Group says it will select the general contractor of the new hangar, pre-hangar board and technical facilities over the next few months. It is also looking to develop partnerships with technical schools aimed at staff acquisitions and training based in the region of Podkarpackie in the south east of Poland.

The scope of the investment also includes the necessary hangar equipment and tools along with additional construction of office space and a car park. It is also targeting environmentally friendly initiatives in the hangar including LED lighting technology and natural gas for heating.

At the announcement of its new hangar plans, LOTAMS cited the Boeing 787 as being one of the aircraft types it’d be looking to service at the facility.

Further capacity will likely be needed to service the 787 over the coming years. Aviation Week’s Fleet & MRO Forecast data foresees a growing market for the widebody aircraft as the program matures and more 787s enter their first shop visit. 

This year, the 787 aftermarket has a value of $4.4 billion according to Aviation Week data. By 2025, this is forecast to grow to $28.9 billion. 

Despite the crisis, a growing amount of base maintenance is expected to return from the Far East to parts of Europe over the next decade. This trend has seen other MRO providers in the region look to build up capacity.

These include Hungary's Aeroplex, which is planning to build a widebody MRO hangar in the country by early 2022.