Indian airlines seek to boost domestic MRO capabilities as aircraft fleets expand

New Delhi: Indian airlines are looking at ways to boost capabilities and be "self-reliant" to carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul activities within the country as they expand their aircraft fleet.

The market for airframes, engines and components is set to triple to USD 9.5 billion by 2035 in India, which is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets.

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Air India's SVP Engineering & Maintenance Jeremy Yew on Wednesday said the current situation has forced the airline to look at how much MRO works can be done in-house and also emphasised that a lot needs to be done for MRO activities for wide-body aircraft.

Currently, most of the detailed MRO works for wide-body aircraft are done overseas.

Air India was planning to send some aircraft for maintenance to facilities in West Asia and when the crisis in the region started, the airline struggled to get capacity elsewhere for getting the works done, he said at a session at the Aviation India and South Asia 2026 conference in the national capital.

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According to him, there can be "win-win relationships" with independent MROs.

Building in-house capabilities does not mean that independent MROs would lose out, he said and added that there can be discussions as long as commercials are right and quality and safety standards are met.

Air India, which has more than 540 planes be delivered in the coming years, expects to set up its MRO facility in Bengaluru by the end of 2027.

Against the backdrop of expanding aircraft fleet, IndiGo's SVP Engineering & Maintenance Parichay Datta said "there is no choice but to be self-reliant".

"With the rate of expansion of an airline and a different rate of expansion of MRO (facilities), we have got to be self-reliant," he said at the session and also mentioned that partnerships for MRO works should be on the right side, both commercially as well as capability-wise.

There are complexities but those are being reduced by having more MRO facilities within the country, Datta said.

Akasa Air's Senior Vice President Maintenance & Engineering Daniel Saldanha said the airline's MRO facility at Noida airport is expected to be ready in 2028.

India's commercial aircraft fleet, which is around 800 now, is expected to double in the coming years as airlines add more planes to cater to the rising traffic demand.

Top officials of MRO players GMR Aero Technic, state-owned AI Engineering Services Ltd, Airworks and Max Aerospace, who were part of the session, highlighted the growth potential for business as well as enhancing the capabilities within the country.

In January this year, aircraft maker Airbus projected that India's commercial aircraft fleet will triple in size to 2,250 over the next decade.

"As the fleet triples, India will rapidly pivot to become a hub for Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul. The market for airframes, engines and components is set to triple to USD 9.5 billion by 2035," it had said.