Boeing 747s may be disappearing from the global passenger fleet but they are still a mainstay of the heavy cargo market.
With that in mind, U.S. MRO provider FEAM Aero has just opened a maintenance hangar at Cincinnati /Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), its largest among a network of U.S. sites.
The new $19 million facility covers 103,000-sq.-ft. and builds on the company’s existing presence at the airport, with the expansion expected to generate 100 extra mechanic jobs on top of the 200 already there.
The staff supports cargo carriers such as DHL and Amazon, while another, Atlas Air, has signaled its appreciation for the new hangar.
However, until now they have worked out of a trailer, exposed to the elements when performing maintenance, so the new hangar will provide some welcome respite.
As well as FEAM’s staff, airport management is also excited about the new facility, as they hope to turn it into one of the biggest cargo hubs in the country. It is currently the eighth largest.
DHL already uses CVG as its biggest hub in North America while Atlas Air is planning to build a $34 million operations center nearby.
Between them, DHL, Atlas and Amazon--which also plans to turn CVG into a hub--operate more than three dozen 747 freighters.
“As aviation and aircraft maintenance services continue to be in high demand, we’re grateful to CVG Airport for understanding the need for our services, and for allowing this hangar to be part of the economic and innovative growth of the airport and state,” said Cam Murphy, FEAM’s managing director, according to the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
