2 weeks Ago
Chennai: Nearly two years after a 3,000 sq m plot at Chennai international airport was identified for a common maintenance-repair-overhaul (MRO) centre, the work assigned to a contractor is yet to begin. An MRO centre provides engineering services that can be availed of by airlines that do not have a dedicated team of technicians when a flight develops a technical snag in a different country. While airlines such as IndiGo and Air India have MRO centres at Chennai airport to attend to faults in flights, airlines of other countries such as British Airways and Emirates have to wait for their technicians based in other countries to fly down to Chennai to attend to faults, leading to cancellation or long delays for passengers.
Chennai international airport was one of the eight selected by Airports Authority of India (AAI) to set up common MRO centres that would have a stock of spares and qualified engineers to attend to faults of international flights. They would also be able to do routine maintenance tasks such as inspections, servicing, and component replacements to ensure aircraft safety and airworthiness. Engine overhauls, avionics repairs, structural repairs, and interior refurbishment are some of the works carried out by MROs, and the organisations are regulated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
In 2022, Chennai airport authorities identified the land near the taxiway and the contract was awarded to Shaurya Aeronautics Ltd. Sources said the authorities even bought additional land from the state govt to shift radars to make way for the centre. Airport authorities said security clearance of the workers and vetting of designs caused the delay.
"The height of the centre cannot be more than 16 metres as the structure will be on the airside. The initial design was18 metres and so we asked them to redo. The design must be approved by the planning team and the personnel should get security clearance in multiple stages as they would be working in the operational area.
That is why it is taking time," said an official..
