Air India breaks ground on Delhi MRO hangar to boost in-house maintenance

Mumbai: Air India on Thursday announced the groundbreaking of a multi-facility Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) hangar at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to strengthen the airline group's fleet upkeep at its primary hub while boosting operational self-reliance.

Spread across nine acres, the facility is being designed to accommodate one widebody and one narrowbody aircraft simultaneously, and will enable the Tata Group-owned airline to centralise key engineering and maintenance activities, bringing critical functions under direct operational oversight, Air India said.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Air India CEO and MD Tewolde Gebremariam, along with senior executives from Air India and Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), including the Air India group's Head for Governance, Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Affairs P Balaji.


Once completed, the MRO hangar will become the first facility in the national capital capable of simultaneously accommodating one widebody and one narrow body aircraft, it said.

The new MRO facility will support Air India's efforts to build greater in-house maintenance capabilities, improve fleet reliability, and contribute to the development of a stronger aviation ecosystem in India, the airline added.

Designed for long-term scalability, the hangar features a 25-metre clear height and large column-free spans to accommodate next-generation aircraft.

The facility will help the airline enhance its fleet availability by centralising inspections, cabin upkeep and defect rectification.

This will also significantly reduce aircraft ground time integrated engineering offices and on-site warehouse for spare parts, besides eliminating fragmented workflows and reducing logistics costs, the airline said.

A dedicated cabin shop will ensure faster interior repairs, reducing reliance on third-party vendors and minimising cabin-related defects, as well as providing a direct access to technical teams and spares. It will also enable faster resolution of aircraft grounded due to technical reasons, minimising disruptions, Air India said.