Ethiopian Airlines Completes Africa’s First Full Strip-and-Paint Programme on Airbus A350-900

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Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s premier carrier and one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation brands, has proudly announced the successful completion of the continent’s inaugural full strip-and-paint program for the Airbus A350-900 on two of its aircraft.

Breaking Travel News reports that this groundbreaking accomplishment significantly enhances Ethiopian MRO’s capabilities, technical proficiency, and dedication to operational superiority. It represents another key achievement, building on the recent establishment of full strip-and-paint expertise for the Boeing 787 fleet’s advanced composite structures.

Reflecting on this landmark success, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew stated: “The triumphant completion of our full strip-and-paint initiative on two A350-900 aircraft, alongside our earlier Boeing 787 painting advancements this year, represents a significant leap in our in-house expertise for wide-body composite structures.

This milestone underscores Ethiopia’s relentless investment in cutting-edge MRO infrastructure, bolstering operational resilience, fostering greater self-sufficiency, and solidifying our leadership on the global stage. In addition to substantial cost savings, it opens doors to new revenue streams and cements our role as the continent’s foremost MRO provider.”

As a top-tier aircraft maintenance provider across Africa and the Middle East, Ethiopia’s MRO has delivered exceptional services for nearly six decades, including specialised painting and coating through its advanced paint shop and a dedicated state-of-the-art hangar. These services extend to Ethiopian’s own fleet as well as third-party clients worldwide.

Today, Ethiopian Airlines boasts full in-house proficiency in painting and multi-layer coating for both composite and aluminium airframes across its diverse fleet. This enables efficient management of complex projects using sophisticated techniques such as High-Volume Low-Pressure (HVLP) and electrostatic spraying systems.

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Nigeria’s aviation sector is experiencing a notable surge in Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) developments as of late 2025. While historically reliant on overseas facilities, resulting in significant capital flight estimated at hundreds of millions annually, the country is actively addressing this gap through public-private partnerships and private initiatives. 

Key projects include partnerships with Boeing and Cranfield University to establish certified MRO hubs in Lagos and Abuja, led by local operators like Aero Contractors and XEJet. Additionally, Air Peace has broken ground on what is touted as West Africa’s largest MRO facility in Lagos, with other airlines such as United Nigeria and Ibom Air also pursuing similar efforts. 

These advancements aim to reduce dependency on foreign maintenance, create jobs, and position Nigeria as a potential West African aviation hub. Challenges like infrastructure deficits and regulatory hurdles persist compared to more established centres.

Robust MRO capabilities play a pivotal role in strengthening aviation infrastructure, which directly supports tourism growth across Africa and Nigeria. By minimising aircraft downtime, reducing flight delays and cancellations, and lowering operational costs for airlines, advanced in-house maintenance ensures more reliable schedules and greater fleet availability. This reliability boosts passenger confidence, encourages expanded routes, and facilitates increased intra-African and international connectivity, which are key drivers for tourism.

In Africa, where flying is essential for reaching famous places like safaris, cultural sites, and beaches, better MRO helps save money (like Nigeria’s expected $200 million each year) and allow for more investment in expanding travel options, which in turn creates more jobs in tourism-related areas like hotels, shops, and tour guiding 

For Nigeria specifically, improved aviation efficiency could unlock the country’s vast tourism potential, from cultural heritage in the southeast to business hubs in Lagos, by making travel more affordable and predictable, attracting more domestic and foreign visitors while supporting economic diversification beyond oil.

Dive deeper into the latest aviation breakthroughs and their impact on African travel. Explore more stories on our website for exclusive updates on tourism, airlines, and economic trends.

 

FAQs

1. What is the significance of Ethiopian Airlines’ A350 strip-and-paint achievement?  

It marks Africa’s first in-house full strip-and-paint programme for the advanced composite Airbus A350-900, enhancing technical expertise, reducing costs, and enabling revenue from third-party services while strengthening operational self-reliance.

2. How does this milestone build on previous accomplishments?  

It follows Ethiopian’s recent development of similar capabilities for the Boeing 787 fleet, expanding in-house expertise across wide-body composite aircraft and solidifying its position as Africa’s leading MRO provider.

3. What facilities support Ethiopian MRO’s operations? 

Ethiopian operates modern paint shops and a dedicated state-of-the-art hangar, with nearly 60 years of experience in advanced painting and coating for both composite and aluminium airframes using techniques like HVLP and electrostatic spraying.

4. How could advanced MRO capabilities affect tourism in Nigeria and Africa?  

By improving aircraft availability and reliability, strong MRO reduces delays, lowers costs, and supports expanded flights, boosting accessibility to tourist destinations, increasing visitor numbers, and creating jobs in hospitality and related sectors.

5. What is the current state of MRO development in Nigeria? 

Nigeria is advancing with new facilities in Lagos and Abuja through partnerships (e.g., Boeing), private projects (such as Air Peace’s large-scale hub), and initiatives to curb overseas maintenance expenses, aiming to emerge as a West African MRO centre.