Information of TTFLY: FAI Aviation Group, the parent company of Germany’s largest business aircraft operator, FAI rent-a-jet, has broken ground on a third hangar at its base in Nuremberg, which will be used to support the company’s first foray into the aircraft storage market.

Upon completion in March 2017, the €6 million ($6.7 million), 4,800m² (51,670ft²) building, dubbed Hangar 8, will boost FAI’s footprint at the site in southeast Germany to 14,000m².

“The increased capacity will support FAI’s expansion into the aircraft storage market,” says Siegfried Axtmann, founder and chief executive of the company, which is also Europe’s largest air ambulance operator.

Axtmann says the decision to move into this niche sector was driven by the rising inventory of business aircraft for sale in Europe and “the growing demand [from their owners] for air-conditioned hangar space in which to keep them in mint condition before a sale takes place”.

Hangar 8 will also be used for line maintenance work across a range of aircraft, including FAI’s 20-strong fleet of Bombardier aircraft. The line-up includes three long-range Global Expresses, five large-cabin Challenger 604s and nine midsize Learjet 60s. The latter represents the largest single inventory of the out-of-production type.