Aircraft MRO provider, STS Aviation Services, is growing its C-check services team and expanding its Airbus tooling at its base maintenance facility in Melbourne, Florida, in response to a rise in demand for services.
“We are beginning to see more and more commercial aircraft come out of storage,” explained Mark Smith, president of STS Aviation Group. “When that happens, a C-check is often required before an aircraft can return to service. Right now, our team in Melbourne is turning C-checks over very quickly, and that spells immediate revenue for our commercial clients who are all eager to get their aircraft back in the sky as soon as possible.”
According to domestic air travel data points provided by the TSA and recently published by Forbes, a typical day in August 2019 saw 2.5 million passengers take to the skies. On 23 August, 2020, however, that number rested at 841,806. And while a 66% reduction in year-over-year traffic is not a return to normal, that percentage is far better now than it was in April 2020, when domestic air travel was experiencing, on average, a 95% reduction in passenger traffic.
“Over the past few months the Melbourne crew has exhibited a level of resilience worthy of praise,” said Shane King, VP of STS Aviation Group. “Their collective ability to rise above the looming uncertainty caused by Covid-19 to become a crucial cog in the wings of recovery for the commercial aviation industry has been remarkable to witness.”
Over the past four weeks, STS Aviation Services has added 15 new members to its aircraft maintenance team in Melbourne, and that team just accepted a C-check for an A319, a project that is already putting its newly expanded Airbus tooling to good use.
