St. Croix-based aviation services provider Bohlke International Airways is poised to become the first FAA-certified Part 145 maintenance facility in the Caribbean, the family-owned company announced on the eve of NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference in Tampa. The lone FBO on the island’s Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport, with its 10,000-foot runway, Bohlkewill begin offering full MRO services this summer from a 35,000-sq-ft hangar. The facility willspecialize in PT6-engine and airframe repair, with avionics to follow toward the end of the year.

Matthew Jones, Bohlke’s director of maintenance, has more than a decade of experience with commercial carrier Seaborne Airlines and Dynamic Aviation, and specializes in PT6 hot section work. As a private pilot, he is able to travel to other islands in the region to work on N-registered aircraft. Overseeing the department is former director of maintenance Charles Freehling, who has more than 50 years of aviation maintenance experience. “Maintenance in this company now has the opportunity to be a big contributor to this region rather than just an anchor,” said general manager Sam Black.