Azul TecOps, a business unit of Azul created in April 2023 to provide maintenance services, skills, and technical expertise to other companies, has obtained certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to serve European Union companies in aircraft and component maintenance services.
The approval, valid for 2 years with the possibility of renewal, occurred within the bilateral agreement signed between the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) and EASA, in order to simplify procedures for the approval of maintenance organizations, eliminating redundancies in certification and surveillance steps.
According to Flávio Costa, Technical Vice President of Azul, in addition to the development of a manual compatible with the Brazilian regulator's procedures and at the same time adhering to EASA's specific requirements, the certification process also included the training of over 750 Azul Crew members, among technical, support, and administrative areas. "Furthermore, we had several internal audits that validated all our procedures. Over the months, we made various preparation and analysis movements, demonstrations, and training," the executive explains.
Costa also noted that with operational knowledge and technical know-how resulting from more than 15 years of history and with a diverse fleet, Azul TecOps now takes its expertise abroad. "The services that were previously offered only to Brazilian operators can now be offered throughout the European Union, which represents not only the possibility of capturing new customers but also a huge potential for revenue generation," Flávio Costa states. "The EASA approval is an endorsement of the quality and excellence of our services," he adds.
Azul's main hangar is located next to the Viracopos airport in Campinas. Considered the largest hangar in Latin America, with 35,000 square meters, it will complete four years of operation at the end of this month. Today, it has the productive capacity to accommodate three lines of heavy maintenance, one line for modifications, and two lines for special stops for all Azul fleet models. In addition to receiving aircraft for maintenance, the complex houses dozens of workshops, including wheels and brakes, engines, structures, batteries, oxygen, and emergency equipment. There, various specialized services are also performed, such as engine borescopy, aircraft weighing, NDT, CVR and DFDR data reading, placard manufacturing, and decaling, among others.
This EASA approval also covers the company's maintenance facilities in Belo Horizonte, at Pampulha airport, where Azul has other hangars for aircraft maintenance, and various workshops. In total, there are more than 14,000 square meters occupied for servicing ATR, Embraer 195 E1, Boeing, and Pilatus fleets, totaling five lines of heavy maintenance, special stops, and preservation.
