Eurocopter has opened a new hangar at Kobe airport, where the company will undertake a range of operations.

The hangar can accommodate up to 25 mid-sized helicopters, while the company's previous hangar in Osaka could only accommodate 15, Eurocopter said in a statement.

The new facility will also be used for MRO services, the training of pilots and mechanics, and design and customisation.

A full-flight simulator for the EC135 will come into operation at the facility in 2014. It will be used to train pilots from Japan and the Asia-Pacific.

Eurocopter adds that it has a 54% share of Japan's civil and parapublic rotorcraft market, with 320 helicopters operational in the country.

Eurocopter Kobe
© Eurocopter

Source: Flight International