Lufthansa Technik and Puerto Rico announce new aircraft overhaul site on Island

Lufthansa Technik and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico announced an agreement to create a new aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (“MRO”) facility in Puerto Rico, which will service short-haul and medium-haul aircraft. Agreements to this effect have now been signed with the government of Puerto Rico and the responsible port authority and the company plans to start work in the next three months on the construction of the new facility. “We are very grateful to establish with our partner a new overhaul facility in Puerto Rico. Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico will be a very important element in the long-term strategy of Lufthansa Technik’s presence in the American market,” said August Wilhelm Henningsen, CEO of Lufthansa Technik. This is a major new step for Lufthansa Technik to expand its involvement in America. The new company, Lufthansa Technik Puerto Rico (LTPR), will be based at Rafael Hernández International Airport in Aguadilla, a former U.S. Air Force Base located on the northwest of the Island. The Airport’s 11,700-foot runway and 3,900 acres of land makes it an ideal location for the new facility. The company will employ up to 400 workers and run a total of five overhaul lines. Initially it will operate two lines for Airbus A320 C-checks and D-checks. The first layover is due to take place in 2015. Leader of the project is Elmar Lutter, who currently is Managing Director of the European overhaul facility Lufthansa Technik Budapest.