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BENGALURU: The Air India Group on Wednesday announced the construction of a mega Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Kempegowda International Airport, for which it has earmarked Rs 1,400 crore investment. With this, the Tata Group-owned airline behemoth eyes developing Bengaluru as a major hub, apart from Delhi and Mumbai, while also aiming to build a strong self-reliant aviation ecosystem for the country.
Earlier this year, Air India signed an MoU with the Karnataka government to establish the MRO facility in Bengaluru. The upcoming facility, spread across 35 acres, is slated to become an important hub for Air India Group’s aircraft maintenance operations in the region, as it modernises its fleet and expands global reach.
Air India MRO to be operational in 2026
“Air India is in the process of transformation, as part of which we have acquired over 500 aircraft, while also bringing in more capabilities in-house to improve our reliability and maintain cabin presentability,” said Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson.
The new facility is expected to be completed by 2025-end, and begin operations the following year, and is expected to generate over 1,200 new jobs, and support over 200 SMEs in the state through an enhanced supply chain.
The MRO facility will feature a mega hangar to accommodate both 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 to service more aircraft, including a paint hangar. It will be equipped with overhead tele-platforms, cranes, universal docking systems and the largest vertical lift hangar doors in the country.
Air India has also signed an agreement with SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to be its strategic partner for the development of this MRO facility. “It’s important to have this capability in-house. We feel that the size of our future business will require a facility on which we can have a bit of control and influence,” he added.
The Bengaluru MRO facility, expansion of in-house line maintenance facilities across the network and the recently refurbished wide-body hangar in Mumbai will make Air India more self-reliant in maintaining its entire fleet from 2025. The airline also plans to build a new wide body hangar in Delhi to cater to line maintenance requirements, which will help develop a complete maintenance ecosystem at all major airports.
Besides, it plans to open a Basic Maintenance Training Organisation (BMTO) in Bengaluru next year, to ensure continuous inflow of trained personnel for aircraft maintenance and engineering. “This will create opportunities for engineering students to receive training to become type-rated engineers for certification. We are initially looking at training about 50 engineers,” Wilson informed.
“We are bullish about Bengaluru. The process of making the city a hub is to base more aircraft here and operate more flights,” he added.
Earlier, the ground-breaking ceremony to start the facility’s construction was held. It was attended by Commissioner for Industrial Development, and Director, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Karnataka, Gunjan Krishna; BIAL MD and CEO Hari Marar; and SIAEC CEO Chin Yau Seng; apart from Wilson and other senior executives.