Dedicated aircraft maintenance company "MRO Japan" established in Okinawa

MRO Japan, as the new company will be known, will commence operations at Okinawa Airport during the second half of FY2017. Its operations will consist of base maintenance and heavy maintenance for regional aircraft and medium-sized jets such as the DASH8-Q300/400, MRJ, CRJ, B737, A320, A321 and B767 and fuselage painting. The company's expected customers are airlines from the ANA Group as well as other domestic and foreign airlines including low-cost carriers.

ANA Holdings will have a 45% shareholding in MRO Japan while JAMCO will hold 25% and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 20%. The other five consortium members are The Okinawa Development Finance Corporation, Bank of The Ryukyus, Bank of Okinawa, The Okinawa Kaiho Bank, and The Okinawa Electric Power Company, each of which will have a shareholding of 2%.
Initially, MRO Japan will operate from Itami Airport in Osaka until the new maintenance facilities at Naha Airport are ready. The company's facilities at Itami will be inspected for certification by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau in July and operations will begin from September.

Using its advanced aircraft maintenance skills and know-how MRO Japan will aim to take advantage of Naha Airport's location in the centre of East Asia to capture growing demand for aircraft maintenance services from the Asian aviation market. The company also aims to contribute to the revitalization of Okinawa.