Air India has broken ground on a new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangar at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the airline said.

The nine-acre facility is designed to hold one widebody and one narrowbody aircraft at the same time, according to an Air India press release. The airline said it will be the first facility in Delhi able to do so. It said the hangar will centralise key engineering and maintenance work at its largest hub, bringing critical functions under direct operational oversight.

Air India said the hangar will support its plans to build more in-house maintenance capability and improve fleet reliability. It said that better maintenance efficiency is also expected to improve operational performance and make travel more reliable for passengers.

The airline listed several expected benefits. Centralising inspections, cabin upkeep and defect rectification should cut aircraft ground time, it said. Integrated engineering offices and an on-site spare parts warehouse should reduce fragmented workflows and logistics costs. A dedicated cabin shop should speed up repairs of interiors and reduce reliance on third-party vendors. Direct access to technical teams and spares should allow faster recovery of aircraft grounded for technical reasons.

The hangar will have a clear height of 25 metres and large column-free spans to fit next-generation aircraft, the airline said. It said the project meets strict safety standards, including advanced fire protection, and follows Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) norms for energy and water conservation.

The ceremony was attended by Tewolde Gebremariam, Air India’s CEO and Managing Director, along with senior executives of Air India and Delhi International Airport Limited, including Chief Operations Officer Basil Kwauk and Deputy CEO of DIAL Manomay Rai, the release said.

Source: PR