Aircraft maintenance is a robust industry, worth an estimated Rs 4,200
crore in India alone. That's less than a per cent of the global
business, and it's only growing. Pulak Sen is founder-general-secretary
of Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) Association of India - an
umbrella body that holds annual conference-cum-exhibitions for the
industry. "Indian carriers currently have a fleet with an average age of
4.6 years.
Over the next decade, as these aircraft age, they will require heavier maintenance checks," he says. This estimate finds support in projections by Airbus and Boeing, which have estimated that aircraft demand in India will go up to over 1,000 by 2020, against the existing fleet of 400.
On September 2, 2011, when a Turkish Airway plane was lodged in slush a few feet off the runway (after overshooting it), staff from the Air India MRO hangar rushed to the spot, pulling out the DARK (short for Damaged Aircraft Recovery Kit). The procedure, says K M Unni, former Air India executive director-engineering, involves placing inflatable tubes below the aircraft body and filling them with air. "The aircraft then easily slid over without damage to the airframe or components," he explains.
Today, India has 32 private MRO facilities. Of these, five are located at the Mumbai airport and the nearby Juhu aerodrome. Infact, Air India's hangar within the Mumbai airport complex is among the biggest repair facilities in the country, with a staff strength of 3,000. The hangar, which is nearly 300 metres wide and 26 metres in height, can accommodate two Boeing 777s at a time. The staff fix everything from a broken seat to a damaged wing.
DARK - which allows engineers to tow aircraft to a more accessible position — is an essential emergency service that Air India allows foreign carriers access to, in the event of accidents in an Indian airport leaving it unoperational.
An MRO, says Menon, whose family founded Air Works in 1951, ensures that a team of experts reach a damaged aircraft with spare parts in the shortest possible time so as to get the aircraft back into the skies. "The jobs they can handle range from video boroscopy to a complete replacement of the engine, and the length of the assignments range from an hour to a full week," he adds.
Read news in full24/08/14 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
Over the next decade, as these aircraft age, they will require heavier maintenance checks," he says. This estimate finds support in projections by Airbus and Boeing, which have estimated that aircraft demand in India will go up to over 1,000 by 2020, against the existing fleet of 400.
On September 2, 2011, when a Turkish Airway plane was lodged in slush a few feet off the runway (after overshooting it), staff from the Air India MRO hangar rushed to the spot, pulling out the DARK (short for Damaged Aircraft Recovery Kit). The procedure, says K M Unni, former Air India executive director-engineering, involves placing inflatable tubes below the aircraft body and filling them with air. "The aircraft then easily slid over without damage to the airframe or components," he explains.
Today, India has 32 private MRO facilities. Of these, five are located at the Mumbai airport and the nearby Juhu aerodrome. Infact, Air India's hangar within the Mumbai airport complex is among the biggest repair facilities in the country, with a staff strength of 3,000. The hangar, which is nearly 300 metres wide and 26 metres in height, can accommodate two Boeing 777s at a time. The staff fix everything from a broken seat to a damaged wing.
DARK - which allows engineers to tow aircraft to a more accessible position — is an essential emergency service that Air India allows foreign carriers access to, in the event of accidents in an Indian airport leaving it unoperational.
An MRO, says Menon, whose family founded Air Works in 1951, ensures that a team of experts reach a damaged aircraft with spare parts in the shortest possible time so as to get the aircraft back into the skies. "The jobs they can handle range from video boroscopy to a complete replacement of the engine, and the length of the assignments range from an hour to a full week," he adds.
Read news in full24/08/14 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror
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