Africa Aviation MRO Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Africa Aviation MRO Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Africa aviation MRO market is anticipated to register a CAGR of 5.44% during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The African aviation industry lags compared to the rest of the world in terms of both aviation demand and supply. By the end of 2019, Africa has only 258 commercial aircraft on order, the least in the world. African fleet growth is expected to be constrained over the next decade by geopolitical tensions, unreliable safety records, high airport fees, and taxes on jet fuel. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated African economies and brought air connectivity across the continent to a virtual standstill in the first half of 2020. ​Against this backdrop, a reduced flight activity is expected to translate into a weaker MRO demand in the region. While the business aircraft and on-demand service providers witnessed better flight movements than the aircraft of the scheduled airlines, cargo demand rose with airlines, emphasizing loss reduction by becoming more active in the cargo transport sector in 2020, by converting some of their passenger aircraft to freighters.​
• There is currently a limited local infrastructure to support the aviation MRO aftermarket in Africa. Only a handful MROs in the region can perform all types of MRO services. Although the MRO industry in the region is smaller than other regions in the world, the existing MROs are trying to increase their capabilities through strategic partnerships and expansion activities. Foreign players are trying to enhance their footprint in the region and find opportunities in the void in the region’s MRO capabilities. ​

Key Market TrendsFixed-wing Aircraft Segment Held the Largest Market Share in 2019

The fixed-wing aircraft segment held the largest market share in the market in 2019. As of mid-2020, the average age of the fixed-wing aircraft fleet in Africa is over 15.5 years, signifying a potential struggle for fleet modernization and aviation infrastructure development in the region.​ Several countries in Africa have adopted fleet migration programs that entail the re-sale of used aircraft from neighboring regions to increase their active fleet. It is estimated that around 75 percent of the fleet growth in the region by 2025 would be a direct result of migrations. ​ Similarly, in the military aviation sector, the lack of economic stability has led to the countries resorting to procuring used aircraft from partner countries in Europe. For instance, Ivory Coast’s GDP was a meager USD 58.79 billion in 2019, and the country could not afford to invest a chunk of the treasury on new aircraft. Hence, the country procured two used An-26s from Bulgaria in 2018 and a single C295W from Spain in 2019.​ However, there are several outstanding orders for fixed-wing aircraft from many countries, which is expected to increase the aircraft fleet in the region in the years to come. Nevertheless, new aircraft orders in Africa is expected to be constrained over the next decade by geopolitical tensions, unreliable safety records, high airport fees and taxes on aviation fuel.​ As the fleet ages, annual MRO expenditure of the nations towards retrofitting their general, military, and commercial aviation fleet would also increase during the forecast period.

Egypt Dominated the Africa Aviation MRO Market in 2019

The growing airline industry in Egypt is generating significant demand for MRO services in the country.​ The Middle East is the largest market for passenger flows to and from Egypt, followed by Europe and Africa. The country’s geographic location has also helped it to emerge as a major aviation MRO hub in Africa with several foreign MRO players having their facilities in Egypt.​ EGYPTAIR MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING, a subsidiary of EGYPTAIR Holding Company, is one of the major MRO providers in the Middle-East and Africa. The company has the capability to service and maintain several Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer aircraft. Its hangars can accommodate up to 12 slots for Narrow-Body and Wide-Body aircraft. The company provides line maintenance services for more than 100 aircraft operators with the available maintenance staff at eight domestic outstations in Egypt and more than 14 international outstations.​ On the other hand, Egypt has the largest fleet of military aircraft in Africa comprising of 303 combat aircraft, 294 combat helicopter, 11 special mission aircraft, 59 transport aircraft, and 387 trainer aircraft as of December 2019.​ Over the past five years, the Egyptian Air Force has upgraded its inventory and has placed several orders for new aircraft and helicopters to enhance its Air Force aerial combat and surveillance capabilities.​ In 2019, after the procurement of 24 Rafale fighter jets from France, Egypt placed an order for Russian Sukhoi Su-35 jet fighters in a deal worth USD 2 billion.​ By the end of December 2019, Egyptian Air Force also had 24 AW149 combat helicopters and eight AW189 civil models from Italy’s Leonardo Helicopters on order.​ Thus, with the growth of the fleet in the coming years, and the modernization plans for the existing aircraft fleet, there will be a significant demand for military aircraft MRO from Egypt during the forecast period.​ The business jet market has also emerged in Egypt over the past decade. Currently, there are over 35 business jets in Egypt. Charter service providers have also increased their operations in Egypt. Some of the air charter service providers are Empire Aviation Group, Spot Air, Alkan Air, and Smart Aviation.​ The growth in business jet flight activity and increase in fleet size will generate demand for MRO services in Egypt in the years to come.​

Competitive Landscape

The market of Africa aviation MRO is fragmented with the presence of many local and foreign MRO providers offering various types of MRO services to the aircraft operators in the region.​ Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Safran SA, Lufthansa Technik, Leonardo S.p.A., and Airbus SE are some of the prominent players in the market. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in investments of foreign players to increase their geographic footprint in the Africa region through expansion into new locations.​ Several local players are partnering with OEMs to gain the technical expertise and required MRO certification for performing on-site MRO services.​ With the increasingly competitive environment in the MRO sectors, the local players are enhancing the efficiency of their MRO processes. The profound market opportunities of the MRO sector in Africa, as well as growing investments of players toward expansion of their presence in the region, are expected to rapidly increase the competition in the market in the coming years.​

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned
 
Saab AB​
LEONARDO SpA​
Dassault aviation SA​
PILATUS AIRCRAFT​
Rostec​
Airbus SE​
Aero Vodochody Aerospace​
Raytheon Technologies Corporation​
Safran​
Denel SOC Ltd​
Lufthansa Technik​
Ethiopian Airlines​
Egyptair Maintenance & Engineering​
South African Airways Technical (SAAT)​
Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria​
Blue Bird Aviation​
JORAMCO​
Sabena Technics​
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance​​
Direct Maintenance​​
Textron Inc.​​

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