Indian Aircraft Maintenance Industry Takes off

New Delhi: A number of Indian and foreign airlines have started getting a part of their aircraft maintenance done in India as the country’s aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry has come of age, helped by the government’s Make in India initiative.

Government initiatives such as exempting MRO service providers from customs duties on aircraft parts and toolkits and extension of storage period for aircraft spares to up to three years have helped companies such as Airworks, Max Aerospace Group and other MROs run by Air India and GMR post a boost in their business in about 18 months, industry executives said. The industry in India generates about $900 million annually and the industry is growing at a modest rate over years despite the aviation industry growing in double digits.

“The government’s initiatives have made it cost-competitive for airlines to get the C-check of their aircraft done in India,” D Anand Bhaskar, CEO at Gurgaon-based Airworks, told ET. “A large number of these C-check jobs are being done by Indian MROs now.”

C-check refers to an extensive maintenance check where most components of an aircraft are inspected and spares are changed where required. It takes about two weeks to complete during which the aircraft would be out of service. Bhaskar said a lot of aircraft from foreign airlines are coming to India for C-checks.

Source: ET

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