EuroAirport. 29 March 2021.After only 12 months of construction time, the latest hangar of AMAC Aerospace has opened its doors to welcome the first mid-size jets. The new building offers space for up to 7 mid-size jets and adds 4’850m2 respectively 30’000m2 of new apron to the four existing hangars at EuroAirport in Basel, Switzerland.

“We are proud to have managed this project successfully in this demanding time,” commented Bernd Schramm, Group COO of AMAC Aerospace. “The Hangar will be dedicated to mid-size jets maintenance and can accommodate up to 7 midsize jets like Bombardier Global or Challenger series or Gulfstream series or a combination thereof. The maintenance services for these types of aircraft were always high in demand and is steadily increasing due to our highly recognized quality of work.”

List of serviced mid-size jets serviced in Basel

  • Bombardier BD-700 (Global Express/Global Express XRS/Global 5000/Global 5500/Global 6000/Global 6500; as of April: Global 7500) series
  • Bombardier BD-100 series (CL 300/350)
  • Bombardier CL-600-2B16 series (CL 604/605/650)
  • Gulfstream GIV (G650/650ER), G450, GV Series, G550, G650, GVI, GVII (G500/G600)
  • Pilatus PC-12 series
  • Pilatus PC-24 series

AMAC’s hangars are famous for the wooden structure. The solid wood frame structures consist of several layers of wood; they are specially laminated to increase the rigidity and are harmoniously ecological. The wooden bars were cut and shaped in the factory, so by the time they reached Basel, they were ready to be installed like Lego bricks. The transport of the massive wooden beams was exceptional and impressive: eleven special-purpose trucks had to be organized to bring these wooden elements from Alsace to AMAC’s hangars at the EuroAirport Basel.

To build the hangar construction, a pneumatic crane was needed. Since the crane did interfere with the safety distance of 7% to the runway, it had to be ready to be removed in a very short time. Given an emergency, that the runway had to be cleared, the crane had to be deconstructed within 20 minutes time. Fortunately, this was never the case, the project was spared from any accidents.

“Since Basel lies in a seismic area, safety comes first,” explains Philippe Schurrer, project manager and Director Safety & Security, Facility Management. “Several columns were sunk 6m down in the ground. The hangar is standing on these reinforced foundations which are able to absorb any shocks or vibrations. Hangar 2, 3 and 4 are built after the same principle, even going down to 8m, hangar 1 has the same depth as hangar 5,” he adds.