Indian airlines set to scale up MRO capacity domestically as fleet expands

According to a Business Standard report, in view of the continuous increase in the country's aircraft fleet, Indian airlines have started considering speeding up the capacity for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities within the country itself so that they can become self-reliant.

India, considered one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets, is projected to see the market for airframes, engines, and various aircraft components increase to $9.5 billion, or three times, by the year 2035. At present, most of the extensive MRO work for wide-body aircraft is carried out abroad.

Speaking at a session of the 'Aviation India and South Asia 2026' conference held in the national capital, Air India's SVP of Engineering and Maintenance, Jeremy Yeve, stated that the current situation has forced the airline to think about how much MRO work can be done in-house, meaning on its own. He also emphasized that a lot more remains to be done for the MRO activities of wide-body aircraft.

He further stated that Air India was planning to send some aircraft to West Asian facilities, but when the crisis broke out in the region, the airline had to struggle hard to source capacity elsewhere to complete this work. According to him, there can be mutually beneficial relationships with independent MROs. Building in-house capacities does not mean that independent MRO companies will suffer losses, and discussions can take place as long as financial matters are right and quality and safety standards are maintained, he added.

Air India, which is set to receive over 540 aircraft in the coming years, expects its own MRO facility in Bengaluru to commence by the end of 2027. Speaking against the backdrop of the expanding aircraft fleet, IndiGo's SVP of Engineering and Maintenance, Parichay Dutta, stated that there is no option other than becoming self-reliant.

He told the session that since the rate of expansion of the airline and the rate of expansion of MRO facilities are different, we will have to become self-reliant. He also stated that the partnership for MRO work should be on the right side in terms of both finance and capacity. He acknowledged that there are complexities in the sector, but they are reducing by building more MRO facilities within the country.

Akasa Air's Senior Vice President of Maintenance and Engineering, Daniel Saldanha, stated that the airline's MRO facility at Noida Airport is expected to be ready in 2028. India's commercial aircraft fleet, currently numbering around 800, is expected to double in the coming years as airlines induct more aircraft to meet growing travel demand.

Top executives of GMR Aero Technic, state-owned AI Engineering Services Limited, Airworks, and Max Aerospace also participated in the session, emphasizing growth prospects for business and scaling up capabilities within the country.

In January this year, aircraft manufacturer Airbus estimated that in the next decade, India's commercial aircraft fleet would triple in size to 2,250. Airbus had then stated that as the fleet triples, India will rapidly move towards becoming a hub for maintenance, repair, and overhaul, and by the year 2035, the market for airframes, engines, and components will grow to $9.5 billion.