Amid growing anger in India over Turkey’s support for Pakistan during the ongoing escalation, Air India is exploring alternative options for aircraft maintenance. Currently, Turkish Technic carries out heavy maintenance for some of Air India’s wide-body aircraft, according to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson.
“We want to respect public sentiment… We will be adjusting our plans. We will reconsider where we send our aircraft for maintenance, and we will try to find alternatives to Turkish Technic . But such a shift will take time—it can’t happen overnight,” Wilson said.According to Wilson, Air India is likely to begin sending its aircraft to other major maintenance centres in regions such as Southeast Asia, West Asia, and the United States, instead of Turkish Technic . Since India currently lacks sufficient facilities for servicing wide-body aircraft, the airline remains largely dependent on foreign MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) providers.
On 30 May, aviation regulator DGCA granted IndiGo a final three-month extension to continue using two Boeing 777 aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines. The airline must end the lease by 31 August.
When asked about some of Air India’s wide-body aircraft being sent to Turkish Technic for maintenance, the airline’s CEO and MD said that aviation is a global business with a global supply chain.“It does take a while to adjust when circumstances around us change, but we are obviously sensitive to national sentiment and, perhaps, national expectations. So, regardless of the country involved, we clearly take note of what people want and expect us to do,” he told PTI in an interview.
Heavy maintenance of some of Air India’s B777 and B787 wide-body aircraft is currently handled by Turkish Technic, based in Turkiye.
In the short term, Wilson said the airline will continue to send some aircraft for MRO work abroad—to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the US, and, in a few cases, to Turkish Technic—as it will take time for India to build sufficient capacity for such operations.“With this most recent development, we will look to recalibrate where we send our aircraft, reduce the number sent to Turkiye, and redirect them to other locations.
“But that does take time, because aircraft need regular maintenance… We are aware of recent developments and will look to adjust our plans accordingly,” he added.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 191 aircraft, including 64 wide-body planes.
