Serbia’s national carrier, Air Serbia, will now carry out all wheel and brake repairs on its fleet in the Czech Republic, part of the company’s move to ensure faster aircraft repairs when the entire industry is struggling with its supply chain, and at a time when Air Serbia does not have the best relations with its former branch, JAT Tehnika.
Czech Airlines Technics, a subsidiary of the Prague airport, announced that they signed a long-term contract with Air Serbia for the repair of wheels and brakes on A330, A320, A319 and ATR aircraft models.
The repairs will be carried out at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague, and the airport in the Czech capital did not respond to Bloomberg Adria’s question about the value of the contract, which they say is a trade secret.
“Until now, we have had sporadic cooperation, and now we will repair wheels and brakes for the entire fleet of Air Serbia,” said Michal Prochazka, spokesman for Czech Airlines Technics.
Air Serbia and Czech Airlines Technics started cooperation even before the pandemic, but since 2020 they have intensified cooperation in the repair of wheels and brakes, according to Prochazka.
The national airline has been struggling with delays for a month due to a series of aviation problems, one of which was the delay of planes arriving in the fleet for the summer season. Experts say that repairs and technical preparation of airplanes have been taking significantly longer lately due to a large shortage of parts and a shortage of mechanics on the market.
Air Serbia is additionally burdened by the fact that its ability to quickly repair planes in Belgrade has been reduced because JAT Tehnika has turned to repurposing passenger planes for cargo since the beginning of the year.
Therefore, the national airline was forced several times to send planes for repair and service abroad, and apart from the Czech company, Air Serbia cooperates to a large extent with Turkish Technica, the aircraft maintenance company owned by Turkish Airlines. Bloomberg Adria previously reported that Turkish Airlines is considering opening an aircraft maintenance center in Serbia precisely because of the difficult situation in the aircraft maintenance market (as well as its large expansion).
“For sure, the market of aviation and original component manufacturers cannot fully satisfy the demand after covid 19”, notes Prochazka. “However, we are well prepared for the contract with Air Serbia and the material has been purchased in advance and is constantly being procured, so in this case there is no such problem,” he adds.
Hangar “F” at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague can receive up to six airplanes from the Boeing 737 family or the Airbus A320 family at the same time.
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