Dassault Falcon Jet has opened an MRO facility at the Catarina Executive International airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, replacing the Sorocaba facility which opened in 2009.

Sao Paulo-Catarina offers nearly 40,000sq ft (3,600sqm) of floor and office space and can accommodate up to five Falcons simultaneously. It is large enough to handle Dassault's largest jets, including the ultra-long range extra widebody Falcon 10X, currently in development.

The facility is qualified to handle maintenance and overhaul operations up to 'B' level checks for Brazilian registered Falcons in the Falcon 7X/8X and Falcon 2000 family. It is also equipped to perform pre-purchase evaluations (PPEs) for customers considering acquiring a pre-owned Falcon.

Catarina holds repair station certification from Brazil's Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), the FAA and EASA, as well as from airworthiness authorities in Argentina, Bermuda and Uruguay. It is authorised to perform line maintenance and major inspections on Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 series models, the Falcon 7X and the Falcon 8X.

In addition to airframe inspections and service, the facility can carry out engine line maintenance on the CFE-738, Honeywell TFE731 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307A, PW307D and PW308C models. It is also equipped to conduct specialised non-destructive testing (NDT) procedures, such as penetrant and eddy current tests. A full service battery shop can repair, replace or recharge main and emergency batteries on Falcon and other aircraft models.

Like Sorocaba, Catalina will support an AOG GoTeam trained to provide rapid mobile response anywhere in South America, along with the parts and tools necessary to get a Falcon flying with minimal delay.

A short ride from Sao Paulo, Catarina Executive International airport is the first international airport in Brazil dedicated to business aviation. The airport's 8,100ft (2,470m) long runway offers instrument approaches.

Over the last five years, Dassault has more than doubled global support capacity and considerably modernised MRO capabilities. The network now includes more than 60 service locations and 15 parts distribution centres around the world, as well as GoTeams necessary to support customer aircraft 24/7 wherever they may be.

"For our company, after-market support is a truly vital part of the ownership experience," says Jean Kayanakis, SVP for worldwide customer service. "This means keeping Dassault as close as possible to its customers and offering all the services needed to maximise the up-time and value of their Falcon fleet."

The company recently opened major new MRO centres at Dubai World Central airport in the Middle East and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Both operate under the ExecuJet MRO brand, another wholly owned subsidiary of Dassault Aviation.

In addition, Dassault is building a US flagship MRO location in Melbourne, Florida to support Falcons operating in North and South America. This centre will open in 2025. It is also adding capacity in the Northeast US with another authorised service centre, Pro Star Aviation, located near Boston, Massachusetts.