In April 2024, Air India announced that it would partner with Bengaluru Airport on many fronts, including building a hub there, launching its own lounge, and building a large MRO Facility. Now, it’s time for them to start work on the third leg of their partnership plan.

Air India commences work on an MRO facility in Bengaluru.

Post-privatisation, Air India has still largely depended on AIESL (earlier known as Air India Engineering Services Limited), based in Nagpur, for its aircraft maintenance work. However, it is now getting started with building its own competencies in maintenance as well.

Air India Group today announced the commencement of construction of a mega Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at a groundbreaking ceremony in Bengaluru. The upcoming MRO facility, to be built on a 35-acre land parcel at the Bangalore International Airport, will become an essential hub for Air India group airlines’ aircraft maintenance operations in the region as the airline modernises its fleet and expands its global operations.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Ms Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner for Industrial Development & Director, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka, Mr Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), Mr Chin Yau Seng, CEO of SIA Engineering Company, and senior leadership team of Air India.

Earlier this year, Air India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to establish MRO facilities in Bengaluru. It has also signed an agreement with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to be its strategic partner for the development of this MRO facility.

Mr Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Air India, said,

India’s aviation sector is on a growth trajectory, and Air India is playing a leading role in this. The Bengaluru MRO facility is coming up at an opportune time to help strengthen India’s aviation ecosystem, while enhancing our in-house capabilities to maintain our fleet. This is a step ahead in our mission to make Air India a world-class airline.

Mr. Hari Marar, Managing Director and CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), said

We are pleased to welcome the establishment of Air India’s MRO facility at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru. As we work towards developing the Airport into a major aviation hub, this marks an important step towards strengthening the fleet maintenance capabilities and infrastructure offering. This development will not only enhance regional connectivity and drive economic growth but also create valuable opportunities for local talent and businesses, reinforcing Bengaluru’s position as an important player in the aviation ecosystem.

Once completed, the MRO is expected to generate over 1,200 new job opportunities for skilled aviation engineers in India and support over 200 SMEs in Karnataka through an enhanced supply chain. These new ventures are projected to create further employment opportunities, strengthening the MRO ecosystem in the state. The MRO will also support Air India’s plans to make Bengaluru as one of its key hubs, boosting direct connectivity to global destinations.

The upcoming MRO will feature a mega hangar to accommodate the wide-body and narrow-body aircraft under a single roof for Base Maintenance. The facility’s capacity will be expanded to include additional hangars for servicing more aircraft, including a paint hangar. Equipped with the latest aircraft maintenance technology, including overhead tele platforms, cranes, universal docking systems, and the largest vertical lift hangar doors in the country, this MRO facility is intended to compare with any MRO in the world.

Air India is adding more maintenance facilities across other hubs as well.

The Bengaluru MRO facility, expansion of in-housed Line Maintenance (routine maintenance of aircraft in operation) facilities across the network, and the recently refurbished wide-body aircraft hangar in Mumbai will make Air India more self-reliant in the maintenance of its entire fleet from 2025.

Air India also plans to build a new wide-body hangar in Delhi to cater to Line Maintenance requirements. This will help develop a complete maintenance ecosystem at all major airports. Air India is also ensuring the availability of trained type-rated personnel for the maintenance function of different types of fleets by obtaining approval for CAR-147 for its training academy.

Besides, Air India plans to open a Basic Maintenance Training Organisation (BMTO) in 2025 in Bengaluru to ensure a continuous inflow of trained personnel for aircraft maintenance and engineering activities. This will create opportunities for engineering students to receive training to become type-rated engineers for certification.

At the end of the day, having their own engineering facilities will look like a big capital expense in the short term, but in the long run, this will be great for the ambition of Air India, and make them self reliant in a lot of ways.

Bottomline

Air India is going all in on building a new maintenance vertical from the ground up and is starting with the work on its MRO facilities at Bengaluru as a part of this establishment. The hangar at Mumbai has also been spruced up, and another one is coming up at Delhi as well.

What do you think of Air India’s ambition and scale for their engineering division?

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