ADDIS ABABA · MRO
African carriers move maintenance closer to home as ferry costs bite
More African operators are shifting checks to continental facilities rather than ferrying aircraft to Europe or the Gulf — a quiet structural change in where aftermarket money lands.
Compiled with AI · reviewed and signed by the desk
The arithmetic is straightforward: a C-check flown to Europe carries ferry fuel, crew positioning and days of lost revenue before the first panel opens. As continental capability has deepened — Addis Ababa, Casablanca, Johannesburg and Cairo all run widebody-capable bays — the ferry premium has become harder to justify. The constraint that remains is components: continental shops still send the majority of rotables abroad for overhaul, which is where the next round of investment is pointing. The operators moving first are those with young fleets and predictable check calendars.