Dassault Aviation will open a new company-owned service centre at Sao Paulo's recently opened Catarina International Executive airport in Brazil The centre will replace Dassault's current facility at Sorocaba.

Set to open in early 2024, the Catarina facility will offer nearly 40,000sq ft (3,600sqm) of floor and office space and accommodate up to five Falcon aircraft at a time. It will be large enough for the new ultra-long range Falcon 10X, currently in development.

Dassault Falcon Jet Catarina will be able to perform line maintenance up to 'B' level checks for Brazilian-registered Falcons in the Falcon 7X and Falcon 2000 family as well as a pre-purchase evaluation (PPE) programme for customers considering purchasing a pre-owned Falcon. PPE operations include a thorough physical evaluation of the aircraft, systems operational checks and a detailed record search.

The facility will hold 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 will be authorised to perform line maintenance and most major inspections on the Falcon 50, 900 and 2000 series models, as well as on the Falcon 7X and 8X.

In addition to airframe inspections and service, the facility will be qualified to provide engine line maintenance on the CFE-738, Honeywell TFE731 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307A, PW307D and PW308C models. It will also conduct specialised non-destructive testing procedures such as penetrant and eddy current tests. A full service battery shop will be available to repair, replace or charge main and emergency batteries on Falcon or other aircraft models.

The location will continue to support an AOG Go Team, trained to provide rapid mobile response directly to any aircraft location in South America, along with the parts and tools necessary to get a Falcon back in the air flying with minimal delay.

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