Air India To Shift From Turkish Technic's Maintenance Works Amid Diplomatic Tensions
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Air India is reducing reliance on Turkish Technic for wide-body aircraft maintenance, amid rising tensions between India with Turkey over its support for Pakistan.
In the wake of the recent strains between India and Turkey, Air India is looking to send its wide-body planes, whose heavy maintenance is being done by Turkish Technic, to other MRO entities.
The move was confirmed by CEO Campbell Wilson, against the backdrop of Turkiye backing Pakistan and condemning India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country following the Pahalgam terror attack.
On May 15, aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) revoked the security clearance for Turkish company Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd in the 'interest of national security".
Later, on May 30, aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted a one-time final extension of three months to IndiGo on damp leasing of two Boeing 777 aircraft from Turkish Airlines till August 31 but directed the airline to terminate the lease within the three months.
In an exclusive interview with news agency PTI, the Air India CEO and MD, on being asked about some of Air India's wide-body aircraft being sent to Turkish Technic for maintenance works, said it is a global business and supply chain.
'It does take a while to adjust when the circumstances change around us, but we are obviously sensitive to the national sentiment and perhaps the national wishes. So, regardless of which country we are talking about, we would clearly take cognisance of what people like us to do and expect us to do," he said.
Heavy maintenance works of some of the airline's wide-body B777s and B787s are done by Turkey-based Turkish Technic.
In the short term, Wilson said the airline needs to send some aircraft for MRO works overseas to places in the Middle East, South East Asia, the US and in a couple of cases, business to Turkish Technic, as it will take some time for India to have the capacity to do such works.
'With this most recent development, we will look to recalibrate where we send our aircraft, reduce the amount that we are sending to Turkiye and send it to other places. But that does take some time because aircraft have to be maintained… we are cognisant of recent developments and we will look to adjust our plans," he said.
MRO refers to Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul.
Currently, Air India has a fleet of 191 planes, including 64 wide-body aircraft.
First Published:
June 02, 2025, 07:03 IST
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