A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Liebherr-Aerospace will expand its Middle East footprint with the launch of a new service center to be located at the Mohammad bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) in the Dubai South development, which includes Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW).
The project, announced at the MRO Middle East 2025 exhibition this week in Dubai, was formalized with a signed agreement between the company and MBRAH.
“This partnership underlines our position in attracting the top players in the aviation sector to establish their presence at Dubai South and operate in an integrated economic environment where they can connect with international markets,” said MBRAH CEO Tahoon Saif.
Expected to be operational by early 2026, the 26,000-sq-ft facility will be an EASA Part 145-certified service center with a focus on the repair of Liebherr aircraft components that are in use on commercial aircraft, business jets, and helicopters throughout the region. That runs the gamut from environmental control systems to flight control and actuation systems, to landing gear.
“The expansion of our MRO capabilities is one of the key elements for continuous extension of our customer support and services portfolio in the Middle East region,” said Alex Vlielander, chief customer officer at Liebherr-Aerospace &amp; Transportation. “It enables us to service more components in-house and in-region, thus eliminating logistic routings and in parallel reducing turnaround times.”

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

Liebherr To Expand Middle East Aircraft Component Service Options

A new service center is expected to open in Dubai next year

Aviation components manufacturer Liebherr will establish a new service center in Dubai, scheduled to open next year.

Liebherr Expands Middle East Component Service Options

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Sarah Rose

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Increasing demand drove move to add technicians and another hangar

Thornton Aviation Expands Burbank Maintenance Services

Charles Alcock

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Enlarged and modernized Australian maintenance facility is set to open in early 2026

Textron Expands Asia Pac MRO Support at Melbourne Base

Matt Thurber

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

Software helps aircraft operators manage the minimum equipment list process

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AmyWilder

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

New facility eliminates the need to fly aircraft to Europe for livery work

Satys Unveils New Aircraft Painting Facility in Dubai

Richard Pedicini

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

In this article

More In Maintenance and Modifications

Thornton Aviation Expands Burbank Maintenance Services

Increasing demand drove move to add technicians and another hangar

Textron Expands Asia Pac MRO Support at Melbourne Base

Enlarged and modernized Australian maintenance facility is set to open in early 2026

TrustFlight Signs Heartland Aviation for MEL Manager

Software helps aircraft operators manage the minimum equipment list process

Satys Unveils New Aircraft Painting Facility in Dubai

New facility eliminates the need to fly aircraft to Europe for livery work

Brazil’s Lider Pivots at Congonhas, Expands at Sorocaba

Business aircraft services company has to move from its longtime hangar at the São Paulo airport

Precision Aircraft Management Digitizes Records with Bluetail

Bluetail’s cloud-based solution streamlines operations and maintenance

Aviation Partners’ Winglet Installation Network Expands

Three MRO providers join the Aviation Partners network

Atlantic Jet Partners Buys Component MRO Specialist

Plans call for growing the services provided by the combined companies

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