Air India plans to outsource its wide-body aircraft maintenance, currently handled by Turkish Technic, to different MRO providers, as it reassesses its strategy considering recent developments involving Turkiye, according to CEO Campbell Wilson.
In light of Turkiye's support for Pakistan and its condemnation of India's operations against terror camps in May, the aviation security authority BCAS revoked the security approval for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd on May 15 for "national security reasons."
On May 30, the aviation safety regulator DGCA provided a one-time three-month extension to IndiGo for the damp leasing of two Boeing 777s from Turkish Airlines until August 31 but instructed the airline to end the lease within that time frame.
When questioned about the maintenance of some of Air India's wide-body aircraft by Turkish Technic, the airline's CEO and MD mentioned that it is a global market with an international supply chain.
Turkish Technic carries out heavy maintenance on certain wide-body B777 and B787 aircraft for the airline.
In the short term, Wilson stated that the airline must send some of its aircraft for MRO services abroad, including locations in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the US, and occasionally to Turkish Technic, as India will require time to build that capacity.
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At present, Air India operates a fleet of 191 aircraft, which comprises 64 wide-body planes.