CASABLANCA · MRO
North African MRO builds narrowbody capacity as European shops fill [Le MRO nord-africain développe sa capacité]
Proximity, cost and Part-145 scope are pulling European narrowbody work south across the Mediterranean. [Proximité, coût et agréments attirent le travail européen.]
Compiled with AI · reviewed and signed by the desk
Narrowbody base-maintenance slots in Europe are booked well ahead, and operators are looking across the Mediterranean. Moroccan, Tunisian and Egyptian shops hold EASA Part-145 scope, sit within a short ferry flight of southern Europe, and quote materially lower labour rates.
The constraint is not hangar space but licensed engineers and certifying staff, which is why several shops have paired expansion announcements with Part-147 training investment rather than construction alone.
Where this becomes durable rather than opportunistic is scope breadth. A shop that can take an aircraft through a C-check plus cabin and paint keeps it; one that can only do the check hands it on.
Our read: watch certifying-staff numbers rather than bay counts. They set real throughput, and they take years to build.