A First For Africa: Ethiopian Airlines Rolls Out Airbus A350 Strip-And-Paint Capability

Star Alliance member and one of the largest airlines on the African continent, Ethiopian Airlines has achieved a monumental moment, becoming the first to offer a full strip and paint program in Africa for two of the airline's Airbus A350-900s. As announced on December 26, 2025, the airline has become the first in the region to offer such a service, which significantly advances the airline's aim for operational excellence. We take a look at what this means for today's video. The newly announced strip and paint program specifically for the Airbus A350-900 will see the advancement of the airline's MRO capabilities, including technical expertise and commitment to continuous improvement. The success of this project was coupled with the completion of paint capability on the Boeing 787. We don't have too many visuals directly connected to the story, but Ethiopian Airlines says that this latest offering makes it the leading MRO service provider across the continent with quote-unquote top-notch aircraft maintenance facilities, including a state-of-the-art paint hangar. Ethiopian operates these services primarily for its own fleet, but also for third-party customers. Bacaria has noted that beyond saving costs by offering the strip and paint facilities in-house, it also enables the airline to generate additional revenue by offering these services to other airline customers. This enhances the airline's self-reliance and elevates its capabilities and global appeal for other carriers requiring such services. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasso explained, This project is yet another milestone which reflects Ethiopian's ongoing commitment to investing in world-class MRO capabilities, strengthening our operational resilience, enhancing our self-reliance, and elevating our global standing. Beyond saving costs, this achievement enables us to generate additional revenue and reinforce our position as a leading MRO service provider in the continent and the region. Ethiopian Airlines has operated its own dedicated state-of-the-art paint hangar for up to 60 years, which has allowed the airline to service its own aircraft but also cater to other customers. Presently, it maintains comprehensive in-house painting and multi-layer coating capabilities for both composite and aluminum airframes. The ability to manage this across the entire airline fleet allows for the efficient handling of aircraft repaints and coating projects. This is helped by using advanced methods such as the HVLP or high-volume-low-pressure system for spraying. It will be interesting to see if any airlines other than Ethiopian's own will be drawn to the facility for strip and paint services. When it comes to A350 operators on the continent, Ethiopian is the main one, with fellow Star Alliance member Egypt Air soon to join. Air Mauritius also has a small fleet of four. At the same time, it makes sense for other African carriers with other aircraft types to make use of these facilities given the huge differences in the costs of labor between facilities around the world. But what do you think of the carrier offering this service? Let us know by leaving a comment.