Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) has opened a new maintenance facility in France intended to meet the increase in repair and overhaul services for the Falcon 7X and other new Falcon jets.

Located at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, adjacent to the Dassault Aviation assembly plant, the new complex will add 49,000 sq m of additional maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) space including a 7,200-sq-m hangar, and will be capable of accommodating up to six Falcon 7X, 8X or 5X aircraft at a time. It will complement DFS’s existing installations which have been located at Le Bourget airport near Paris since 1967.

“This additional capacity will permit DFS to keep up with the steady growth in the Falcon fleet, which currently numbers 2,100 aircraft worldwide and is expected to expand significantly with the arrival of the Falcon 8X, which started deliveries last month.” said Dassault Aviation Chairman & CEO Eric Trappier.

DFS General Manager Jean Kayanakis added: “We are extremely proud of this new MRO complex and the speed with which it was built. Building permission was granted in July 2015, followed by groundbreaking in October and delivery of the building in September 2016. The first Falcon arrived on site on October 17 and was returned to its owner on October 28.”

The immediate priority of the new facility will be to handle the expected C Checks ramp-up for the Falcon 7X. The 7X fleet leaders are now approaching their first heavy maintenance check, scheduled once an aircraft reaches eight years of service. More than 250 aircraft are now in operation.

The facility is also designed to handle a range of other scheduled maintenance activities besides C Checks, including structural repair, cabin refurbishment and modifications, avionics upgrades, carpentry and paintwork.

DFS Mérignac is able to draw on engineering resources and specialists from the nearby Dassault Aviation assembly plant and other companies in the surrounding area. 

The new Mérignac MRO facility is the latest in a series of outlays made by DFS to ensure it remains close to its steadily expanding customer base and is equipped to provide the highest possible level of product support. Other recent moves include the expansion and modernization of DFS’s large Le Bourget MRO complex, the establishment of satellite service centers and Go Teams at London/Luton, UK, Nice, France and Moscow/Vnukovo, Russia.

Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across five continents. It produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcons. 

DFS offers an extensive suite of maintenance, management and technical services for Falcon business jets. Located at Paris-Le Bourget airport, DFS is a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation and a member of the Dassault Aircraft Services network. Its activities include FBO services as well as aircraft management and executive flights.