Shannon-based aircraft maintenance firm is redeveloping a former hostel to provide accommodation

The Shannon-based Atlantic Aviation Group has become the latest Irish company to snap up property to use for staff accommodation in the face of the rental crisis.

A subsidiary of the company, which provides maintenance for aircraft and related services, has bought a vacant property in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, and will repurpose it as staff accommodation. Atlantic Aviation Group (AAG) said it would allow newly-hired employees a chance to settle into their new roles without the headache of having to look for a new home.

The site was previously home to the Jamaica Inn hostel, and development is already underway.

The A-rated project, close to Atlantic Aviation’s centre of operations at Shannon Airport, will include about 36 en-suite bedrooms for employees, with shared relaxation areas and living rooms, communal kitchens and garden areas.

Last year AAG said it would recruit 45 apprentice aircraft maintenance engineers, with the roles start in June and September 2023. It pointed out that there’s a worldwide shortage of qualified aircraft-maintenance engineers.

Despite increasing its workforce in recent years to more than 750 people, Atlantic Aviation Group said it has experienced significant challenges in recruiting staff due to the lack of available accommodation in the greater Shannon area.

“Like all employers, I and the AAG leadership team have observed and shared the journey that our people take to find suitable housing and accommodation,” said Patrick Jordan, the owner and chairman of the company, which he acquired in 2015.

“In the current market, that has proved to be a somewhat frustrating experience, with a scarcity of accommodation and high rent levels,” he added.

“In providing rental accommodation for our new hires who need somewhere to live, we are giving our people the best possible chance to settle into their new roles right away and familiarise themselves with more long-term housing options,” said Mr Jordan.

Ryanair group chief executive Michael O’Leary this week defended the airline’s move to buy 25 newly-built houses in Swords, Co Dublin, that it will rent out to cabin crew.

“In recent years the absence of affordable rental accommodation has been a major impediment to recruiting and training new Irish and European cabin crew members to Ryanair's in-flight team,” he told RTE.

Shane O’Neill, the chief executive of Atlantic Aviation Group, said that “employees everywhere” are struggling to find accommodation and that the property it’s developing will help staff as they begin their roles.

“The accommodation is not intended as a long-term solution but will prove invaluable in its role in giving employees a housing option when they start,” he said.

At the end of March 2022, Atlantic Aviation finalised the acquisition of Lufthansa Technik Shannon, adding 300 people to the group’s workforce and bringing its total to more than 700 across its sites in Ireland and the UK.

Atlantic Aviation Group’s accounts show that its operating profits halved last year to €1m even as turnover surged by a third to €45.4m. The figures don’t include the Lufthansa Technik Shannon acquisition.

The company provides aircraft maintenance and other services to clients including Ryanair, Jet2, ASL Airlines and DHL. Its customers also include aircraft leasing firms such as Avolon, AerCap and SMBC Aviation Capital.

Reporting On: https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/atlantic-aviation-group-latest-company-to-buy-homes-for-staff/a1260300608.html