JOHOR BAHRU, 18 January 2023 – Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), the engineering arm of Capital A (formerly known as AirAsia Group Berhad) has opened the doors to its new Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangar facility in Senai, Johor Bahru, further strengthening its mission of delivering the best value, best in class MRO services with high efficiency across an extensive coverage of locations.

This 5,000 square metre hangar, built on 107.4 acres at Senai Airport’s Free Industrial Zone (SAFIZ), is the first MRO facility at the Senai International Airport Aviation Park, and ADE’s third MRO facility. With over 20 years of engineering experience servicing the world’s best low-cost airline AirAsia, ADE is extending its expertise and best practices in airline engineering with third-party airlines providing services including component support, line maintenance and base maintenance for various aircraft models, such as the Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft families with plans to grow their capacity to service other aircraft types in the future.

The launch event today was inaugurated by His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, the Crown Prince of Johor.

Other key state government officials, including the Menteri Besar of Johor, YAB Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and the State Secretary of Johor, YB Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Haji Azmi Bin Rohani were also present during the event.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A said: “Firstly, we would like to thank His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, the Crown Prince of Johor for gracing our event today, and for His Royal Highness’ support in launching our first hangar facility in Senai, Johor Bahru.

“We are confident that Johor as a state offers a new gold mine of opportunities – a valuable asset to Malaysia’s ongoing economic development. Upon opening the doors to this hangar facility, it will further expand ADE’s presence in aircraft engineering to economically bustling countries in Asia Pacific.”

“We are proud that ADE marks a milestone today in disrupting and changing MRO services in a significant way, just like how AirAsia has disrupted and created a whole new market for travel more than 20 years ago. We owe a large part of AirAsia to the maintenance and high efficiency of ADE, and in turn, guarantee its fleet of work to ADE, which allows it to reduce costs for airlines, thus lowering fares for customers. Moreover, due to Capital A’s digital ecosystem with our investment into data, ADE has greatly been able to benefit using data science to increase efficiency, reliability and productivity. As a 21st century engineering company driven by big data, we are sure ADE will put Johor and Malaysia firmly on the map as a world leading MRO provider for AirAsia and other third party airlines within the region.”

Mahesh Kumar, CEO of ADE said: “The launch of this aircraft maintenance hangar in Senai is a great milestone for ADE to start the year with. We are proud of our contribution to the growth of the Malaysian maintenance aerospace sector, especially at strategic development zones like Johor.

“Senai International Airport is strategically positioned, granting easy access to the rapidly growing countries in Asia Pacific. In addition, Senai Airport Terminal Services (SATS) has developed a comprehensive 20-year master plan to transform Senai International Airport and its surroundings to a world-class airport city. At ADE, we see this as a golden opportunity for us to expand our presence and expertise in the MRO space, especially in bringing more foreign investments to the state and the nation in general through the aerospace industry.

“In line with ADE’s belief in appreciating and nurturing the community, we look forward to expanding our hangar facility functions into a training school for aviation professionals and aerospace engineering students nationwide and beyond. We believe the best way to grow our company and the community we serve is to invest in our own people by reskilling and upskilling them.

“We would like to thank our partners for their support in carrying out this ambitious project as we continue to grow in line with demand for MRO services in Asean and beyond in our quest to become the industry leader in this space”

ADE’s newest hangar facility is a well aligned strategic partnership servicing AirAsia’s growing fleet of commercial aircraft  and other third party airlines. The new state of the art facility leverages one of Malaysia’s most important  development zones – the Crown Jewel of The South, Johor. Following today’s announcement ADE will have greater proximity to service numerous economically bustling countries which will further expand its presence and services in the MRO industry within the Asia Pacific region, and beyond contributing vastly to the growth of Malaysia’s aviation industry.  

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About Asia Digital Engineering (ADE):

Founded in 2020, ADE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital A based in klia2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ADE is carved out from AirAsia’s Engineering Department best practices and experience. While ADE was founded in 2020, they have been a solid backbone for AirAsia for over 20 years and counting. ADE offers a broad spectrum of aircraft services such as line maintenance, base maintenance, component repair and overhaul, warehouse management, technical and design organisation services along with digitally driven engineering solutions and engineering support services. With vast experience in airline engineering managing the world’s best low cost airlines, ADE aims to deliver the best value and customer experience by providing the highest standard of professional services in quality, reliability and safety.