Air India begins construction of mega MRO facility at Bengaluru airport as part of plan to make IT city a key hub | Business News
Tata-owned Air India group has started construction of its planned mega maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in Bengaluru that is expected to become a key hub for maintenance operations of Air India group airlines as they modernise their fleets and expand global operations. The MRO is also a key part of Air India’s plan to make Bengaluru as one of its major hubs, boosting direct connectivity with global destinations.
The upcoming MRO facility will be built on a 35-acre land parcel at the Bangalore International Airport. The groundbreaking for the project was held at the location on Thursday, Air India said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Air India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to establish MRO facilities in Bengaluru. Air India also inked an agreement with Singapore Airlines group’s SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to be its strategic partner for the development of this MRO facility.
“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,” Air India’s Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said.
According to Air India, the upcoming MRO will feature a mega hangar to accommodate wide body and narrow body aircraft under a single roof for base maintenance. The facility’s capacity will be further expanded to include additional hangars for servicing more aircraft, including a hangar for aircraft paint jobs.
“Equipped with 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 will be setting a new standard in aviation maintenance at par with any MRO in the world,” the airline said.
“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,” it added.
The bulk of Air India and Vistara’s international operations are from the larger and busier airports at Delhi and Mumbai. AirIndia also has some long-haul services from Bengaluru, which is India’s third-largest airport in terms of passenger footfall. The Tata group’s budget airline Air India Express already has a dense network in Bengaluru, which is one of its major focus cities. With the Tata group consolidating its airline business by merging full-service carriers Air India and Vistara, and budget carriers AirIndia Express and AIX Connect, the carriers’ networks are also likely to see significant synergies.
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At present, Air India is the only Indian airline operating long-haul flights, and further expansion of its long-haul network appears to be a key focus area for the airline over the next few years.
The Air India group is in the midst of a massive fleet expansion and upgradation programme. Last year, it places a mammoth order for 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing. The airline has also initiated the process of refurbishing and upgrading its legacy aircraft.
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