Iberia has refitted its maintenance hangars for painting aircraft to improve and extend its services to its own airplanes, as well as to those of other carriers. The 2,900 m2 hangar is equipped for stripping, sanding, painting and drying the paint on aircraft following major overhauls, and also for painting new aircraft before they enter service. The first aircraft to be painted in the new facility was a Boeing 757/200 belonging to Saudi Arabian Airlines, followed by an Airbus A320 flown by Ural Airlines.

Located at Iberia’s “La Munoza” maintenance facilities near the Madrid’s Barajas airport, the hangar now boasts the latest equipment and a special lighting infrastructure that gives light brighter than daylight. Other innovations include air quality monitors that allow more precise control of ventilation and air temperature and humidity in the hangar.

The paint used at the new facility features fewer volatile components, making it more friendly to the environment. It is also lighter in weight, so will help to reduce fuel consumption.

Iberia Maintenance has seven hangars in Madrid for the different tasks involved in the inspection and repair of airframes, engines and components, plus an additional facility in Palma de Majorca, and a new hangar now under construction at Barcelona airport. The large maintenance division provides comprehensive services to Iberia and more than 100 outside clients, including airlines on all the continents, manufacturers, and military organisations. It is the world’s ninth-largest maintenance company, with gross income of 690 million euros in 2007.