The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has certified the maintenance center of Illinois-headquartered Aircraft Propeller Services (APS) in Malaysia to repair propellers used on ATR turboprop aircraft in a bid to reduce their out-of-service periods.

APS said it received accreditation from the CAAP to maintain, repair, and overhaul propellers on ATR turboprop aircraft being serviced in the Philippines.

The certification allows the country to send its Collins Aerospace-made 568F propeller systems to APS’ facility in Malaysia instead of shipping them outside Southeast Asia.

APS Asia Pacific Managing Director Fergus Lopez said the country’s carriers typically send their propellers to North America and Europe for repairs, resulting in higher costs and longer repair cycles.

“Keeping the propellers in the region, by sending them to our Malaysia facility, reduces turnaround times, simplifies logistics, and improves fleet availability,” said Lopez.

APS’ Malaysia facility is the only maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) provider in the Asia Pacific region that is licensed by Collins Aerospace to repair 568F propeller systems

According to APS, it was also certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to repair its ATR turboprop aircraft.

The company’s Malaysian facility was previously accredited by the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

APS expects to accommodate the 26 active ATR aircraft of the Philippines at its facility.

The Philippines still relies on turboprop operations for most domestic connectivity, particularly to smaller islands where airports cannot accommodate larger jets.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said turboprops are the main driver of the increase in airfares on some domestic routes because they can carry only 72 passengers, compared with an A330 aircraft that can carry up to 459 passengers.

“If the aircraft is larger and can accommodate more passengers, the ticket price per passenger can be lowered since revenue is generated from more passengers,” the CAB said in a statement.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is now working to address this issue by extending the runways at regional airports to accommodate larger aircraft.

The DOTr is also initiating upgrades to make airports night-capable, allowing them to operate round-the-clock to increase the number of flights and help reduce airfares.