Jet East, a Gama Aviation company, has officially signed an agreement to open a full-service flagship maintenance facility in Statesville, North Carolina. This additional site will compliment Jet East's current footprint that includes coast to coast US maintenance bases and an expansive AOG network. Located 40 minutes north of Charlotte, the new base is comprised of two facilities with a combined 75,000 sq ft of hangar space, 40,000 sq ft of office and back shop space and an additional parcel of adjacent land for future growth.

The main hangar was built in 2004 and is in immaculate condition. It is fully equipped with LED lighting, fall protection and a fire suppression system for Jet East to take immediate possession. A secondary hangar provides the same appealing infrastructure and was built in 2007. The City of Statesville and airport officials have been working behind the scenes with the Jet East leadership team and are equally excited about the new partnership.

Jet East has targeted Q1 of 2023 as an estimated timeframe for launch. When fully operational, customers can expect full-service capabilities from the Statesville Regional airport location, including every facet of maintenance, avionics, interiors, composites and structures. In addition, there are immediate plans to construct a brand-new paint facility at the site. The company estimates bringing more than 250 jobs to the area as a result of the new location. Key airframe types that will be the primary focus include Cessna, Gulfstream, Bombardier and Embraer products.

“The facility offers an amazing opportunity for Jet East and allows us to expand our capacity, capabilities and reach within a key region of the US,” says president and CEO Stephen Maiden. “The facility is in impeccable condition. The energy for this new endeavour is high, and this is truly a milestone moment for the Jet East team and the customers we serve and support.”

“We are extremely pleased that Jet East selected Statesville as the location for its newest maintenance repair and overhaul facility. This exciting partnership will bring additional corporate aircraft into the airport from all over the world. We look forward to a long-term relationship and the overall benefits it will bring to our community,” adds airport manager John Ferguson.

Jet East has also entered into the FAA's Safety Management System Voluntary Programme, signalling a new dedication to meeting and exceeding industry best practices in the business aviation maintenance segment. This designation reflects the company's ongoing focus on safety as an enduring value and as a business function imperative to its success. It entered this SMSVP in the newly defined category of Corporate Enterprise SMS, which the FAA limits to organisations with multiple repair station certificates that meet all the following characteristics:

- A single accountable executive

- An SMS manual or documentation that incorporates all certificates

- A common data collection system

- Data analysis process that includes local and corporate responsibilities

- Process for hazard reports to all those affected throughout the entire organisation

To support this, Jet East will be communicating this safety approach and the roles that all personnel play in the coming months during on-site kick off events at all company locations. Entitled Safety 24/7, it will expand the traditional workplace safety and compliance model to a more holistic approach to engage all workers in identifying hazards to personnel and flight safety, enhancing risk assessment processes and promoting the protection and quality of life as ultimate goals, whether that is at work, at home or at play. The Safety 24/7 approach will also promote recognition of positive safety action among employees, create local safety committees and harmonise the organisation's safety communications to all personnel.

“We are excited to take this next step to solidify and grow our safety management system, incorporating best practices from industry and from our own employees on an ongoing basis. Jet East has always demonstrated our core value of safety, and a big part of the reason for our success is that we do not stop looking for new ways to improve. Safety 24/7 is a next step in our continuous improvement journey,” says Maiden.