Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane undergoing maintenance in Estonia

The Ukrainian president's plane (not in Tallinn, though). Photo: Lise Åserud

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane is undergoing maintenance in Estonia under the care of Magnetic MRO specialists.

When the Ukrainian head of state's plane visited Estonia for the first time, Magnetic Group CEO Risto Mäeots inquired up to the level of the government if he could issue a press release about it, but was forced to remain tight-lipped on the subject.

«The reason is that this probably won't be the last time and they don't want to talk about it,» Mäeots said, emphasizing that it was a very conscious choice on the part of the Ukrainians and one based on trust.

Magnetic MRO (one of eight companies belonging to the Magnetic Group), which, in addition to Zelenskyy's plane, is also responsible for the well-being of aircraft for Austrian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines System, Lufthansa, and other major airlines, and the group's CEO Mäeots have a big concern looking to the future: where to get mechanics.

The number of aircraft in the world is growing rapidly, but there are no new mechanics and engineers coming in either in Estonia or elsewhere in the world. There are currently 27,000 commercial aircraft in the world, and this will increase to 36,000 in the next 10 years. The roots of this growth are particularly visible in India, where currently only 2 percent of the population flies, but as poverty decreases and the middle class grows, the demand for aircraft there is increasing enormously. India has ordered an additional 2,000 aircraft.

But the number of aircraft maintainers has not kept up with the growth in the number of aircraft. It is predicted that there will be a global shortage of over 40,000 specialists in the coming years.

«That's an insane number,» Mäeots said.