EuroAirport, which serves the cities of Basel, Switzerland; Mulhouse, France; and Freiburg, Germany; is home to a considerable maintenance and completion industry, with companies such as Jet Aviation, Lufthansa Technik and
Amac specializing in large aircraft. Last month Air Service Basel officially opened a new facility at the airport to serve owners of small and midsize executive jets.

Air Service Basel was established in 1967 as a maintenance shop, initially for piston singles and twins and later also for executive turboprops. With its new facility, located on the west side of Runway 16/34, the company expands its capacity for maintenance work. Air Service Basel holds EASA 145 and Camo (continuous airworthiness management organization) status and expects to receive FAA repair station authorization by year-end. It is already a Bermuda DCA-approved service organization.

In addition to servicing aircraft weighing less than 12,500 pounds, the company is also expanding into the market for larger executive aircraft. It has factory-trained technicians for the King Air, Learjet and Citation 500 Series, as well as the Challenger 300, Hawker 800 and Astra/Gulfstream G100 and G150. It is also authorized to carry out hot-section inspection on the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A. On the avionics side, Air Service Basel is approved for Rockwell Collins Pro Line, Honeywell-Bendix/King, Garmin and Avidyne and implements various upgrades, such as mode-S installation on King Airs and RVSM compliance for the Cessna 500 series. At the lower end, the company is a Cirrus and Piper service center.

In addition to maintenance, Air Service Basel provides FBO services such as handling, in-house customs, lounges and office space to passengers and crews of transiting aircraft. The new complex includes 75,000 sq ft of hangar space and 105,000 sq ft of private tarmac parking. The hangars can accommodate visiting aircraft up to the size of a G550 and Global Express. Its new infrastructure allows the company to compete with Swissport, the other executive handler at EuroAirport.