LTP eyes completion of new hangar in 2022

MANILA, Philippines — Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP), a company which has been severely impacted by the pandemic, is gearing up for a strong comeback as it targets to complete its $40-million hangar expansion in Pasay City as well as return its workforce to its pre-pandemic level by next year.

“After one and a half year through the pandemic, we wanted to use today to set a sign of hope, through perseverance and much support from the Philippine government for business recovery, LTP is stepping out the darkness now and we see the future now again more brightly,” LTP president and CEO Elmar Lutter said in a virtual briefing yesterday.

Lutter said the recent easing of travel restrictions around the world, including the Philippines, has brought back demand.

“Our hangars are once again full and we have a line of customer airlines waiting to be served by our very able Filipino workforce that have spent the last two years preparing, training, and expanding their skills for this moment,” he said.

With the recent developments in air travel where restrictions have significantly eased and demand is steadily picking up, LTP saw that it is the best time to fully complete its Hangar 1A project.

With a total area of 9,000 square meters, Hangar 1A will add 25 percent to LTP’s capacity.

Hangar 1A is LTP’s fourth hangar which can provide base and line maintenance to various commercial aircraft including Airbus A320, A330, A350, A380, as well as B777.

Originally scheduled for completion in September 2020, the construction of Hangar 1A slowed down when demand for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services was dampened by the travel restrictions that negatively impacted the aviation industry.

“The new target completion is February next year and we are pushing for the completion because we think that demand will come back. The decision to complete Hangar 1A after a year of delay is a testament to this. Hangar 1A will open its doors to the first aircraft in the first quarter of next year,” Lutter said.

LTP, a joint venture of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG and Lucio Tan’s aviation support service provider MacroAsia Corp., earlier decided to hold off the full completion of the $40-million hangar expansion in Pasay City until the aviation industry picks up.

“The whole project of Hangar 1A also includes some auxiliary buildings and that will take a little bit longer to reinstate all of that, but we will put that all back.

The plan is we will not only complete the core investment of the hangar, but also all auxiliary investments. Timeline is also first half of next year,” Lutter said.

With the completion of Hangar 1A next year, LTP is also eyeing to bring its workforce back to its pre-pandemic level.