Ethiopian Airlines Achieves A350-900 MRO Paint Milestone

Ethiopian Airlines has recorded a major maintenance, repair and overhaul milestone with the successful completion of Africa’s first full strip-and-paint programme on the Airbus A350-900.

The achievement, carried out on two aircraft, marks a decisive expansion of Ethiopian Airlines’ in-house MRO capability and reinforces its long-term strategy of technical self-reliance. Therefore, the development positions Ethiopian Airlines as a continental leader in advanced composite aircraft painting.

The A350 strip-and-paint programme follows the recent introduction of full composite painting capability on the Boeing 787 fleet. However, the A350 project represents a more complex technical leap due to the aircraft’s extensive use of advanced composite materials. By executing the programme internally, Ethiopian Airlines has demonstrated the depth of its engineering competence while reducing dependence on offshore maintenance providers.

Appreciating the accomplishment, Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mesfin Tasew, said the project marked a significant step forward in the airline’s wide-body composite structure paint capability.