UAMCO Inaugurates Cyprus Leap MRO Facility

LARNACA, CYPRUS—United Aerospace Maintenance Company has inaugurated its CFM International Leap MRO facility in Larnaca, Cyprus where it is scheduled to induct its first engine on Jan. 20.

The engine shop was formally opened at a ceremony held on site Jan. 16. The first engine to enter the shop will be a Leap 1A engine powering an Airbus A320neo aircraft from Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas, which will undergo a works cope that includes a high-pressure turbine refresh and a compressor discharge pressure seal replacement. 

The shop visit will be carried out from induction until mid-April with an estimated 95-day turnaround time.

United Aerospace Maintenance Company (UAMCO) was established in 2023 by 35-year industry veteran John Savvides, who is CEO of the business. It will conduct quick-turn repairs on Leap 1A and 1B engines under European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) A1 and B1 approvals with the exception of piece parts.

Following the approval of line maintenance services from EASA and Cyprus’ regulator in February 2024, construction started on the site last March and was completed in November.

Savvides expects to induct 12 engines this year but projects that this will grow quickly at the site, located at Larnaca’s Free Trade Zone. “As our capacity is higher our target in the next two years is to reach 36-48 engines,” he says.

UAMCO signed an offload agreement with GE Aerospace, a partner in the CFM International joint venture with Safran, in November 2024, to fulfill GE’s obligations as part of the CFM Leap ecosystem. This includes CFM internal capacity, supplied by both joint venture partners, as well as external capacity from Premier MRO shops and other third-party providers competing for Leap maintenance work.

For the next three years, UAMCO plans to focus exclusively on the two Leap variants but will review its cooperation and partnership with GE to eventually look at expanding its capability portfolio.

It also plans to move into full Leap overhauls over the next two years with the addition of an engine test facility which will be located close to the engine shop. 

“We have already placed orders for grinding machines, balancing machines and full cleaning and non-destructive testing lines,” Savvides says. “We have the land and we are in the process of the design of a brand new engine test facility to coincide with our capability increasing.”

In addition to the off-load agreement, UAMCO previously signed an agreement with GE Aerospace's On Wing Support to become a service provider for a recent service bulletin entailing upgrades to Leap engine reverse bleed systems (RBS) to address ongoing fuel nozzle issues. For this purpose, UAMCO has two teams in place, and it is ready to eventually expand this to four teams.

“We have trained personnel for the installation of the RBS and we see that the engines entering the shop are going to have the RBS service bulletin incorporated,” he says. "We also provide on-wing support for customers that choose to implement RBS before an engine visit. We believe that the introduction of the HPT [high-pressure turbine] refresh work scope with the implementation of RBS will improve the performance and durability issues.”