Assistance Aéroportuaire du Mali (ASAM S.A.), the Airport Assistance Company of Mali, announced that it has been certified as an Approved Maintenance Organization. The company will offer line maintenance services in West Africa for Boeing 737 (300/400/500 – 600/700/ 800) and Airbus A320 (A318 to A321) aircrafts at the Modibo Keita-Sénou international airport in Bamako, Mali.

Thanks to a partnership with AMC Aviation, the Bamako (Mali) station was approved and added to the list of line maintenance sites with Part 145 approval: FR.145.0674 – Regulation (EU) 1321/2014. This certification allows ASAM S.A., under the ASAM Technics label, to perform maintenance on airplanes and issue a Certificate of Release to Service (CRS) for an aircraft registered in any member country of the European Union or registered with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which makes ASAM S.A. one of the first Approved Maintenance Organizations of this kind (non-airline) in West Africa.

The first maintenance was completed by ASAM Technics’ technicians on December 13, 2017 on an Aigle Azur A 320 from Bamako to Paris/Orly.

“African companies are in a constant and urgent search for cost saving solutions, particularly in terms of aeronautical maintenance and Mali’s strong geo-strategic location allows it to deliver aeronautical services to the entire sub-region” said Dominique Dreuil, the Chief Executive Officer of ASAM S.A. “A new terminal has just been completed at the Bamako airport and the establishment of a rigorous environment with international standards will only further increase the attractiveness of this hub”, he added.

According to the ICF International 2015 Market Study; 17% of maintenance expenses of African companies are spent on line maintenance. And while the air transport market is expanding in Africa, margins remain among the lowest in the world making it ever more important to focus on reducing costs. According to a recent IATA report, margins will go down from 3.4% to 0.6% between 2017 and 2018.

ASAM Technics is now equipped with modern facilities, all the necessary tools and has met the stringent standards required to deliver line maintenance services at the Bamako airport.