New Delhi: A flight technician left India at the first opportunity and secured a job in Dubai. He said he left due to long work hours of up to 12 hours a day, low pay, and poor upkeep of flights.
He added that there is a night and day difference between aircraft maintenance in India and Dubai.
“In India, the ground staff does just one round of checks at base, while in Dubai, three to four rounds of checks take place for each aircraft. There’s also no guarantee that engineers will show up for this test in India. The quality of checks is very poor,” the technician said, requesting anonymity.
As of March 2025, 16 per cent of India’s fleet, approximately 133 aircraft, is grounded.
Go Airlines was the worst hit, grounding nearly half of its fleet in FY2024 due to faulty engines. Another airline, IndiGo, had around 60 to 70 of its aircraft grounded as of 30 January 2025.
Supply chain and engine failure hamper India’s engine growth, according to a Niti Aayog report on Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO).
But despite these drawbacks, India has a very positive outlook towards a healthy MRO industry in the country. India is set to become the third-largest buyer of commercial planes in the world after the US and China.
India strives to be the global hub for MROs, and service 90 per cent of all Indian MRO requirements by 2040.
The global aircraft fleet is also growing old, which increases the cost of maintenance and the chances of mishaps in the air. Indian MRO currently depends on foreign companies, but the government is trying for a domestic push.
NITI Aayog projects that the Indian MRO industry will grow to $4 billion by 2031 from $1.7 billion in 2021. The compound annual growth rate is 8.9 per cent.
There are largely four segments in MRO—line maintenance (happens during operating hours), component maintenance (engine, landing gear), airframe heavy maintenance and modification (removes aircraft from operation for 30 days), engine maintenance (every 3-4 months).
There are 10 types of random and unscheduled maintenance checks of aircraft as well.
Indian airlines spend 12-15 per cent of their revenue on aircraft maintenance, according to the same report. Indian airlines also outsource engine and heavy maintenance work to third-party vendors.
He added that there is a night and day difference between aircraft maintenance in India and Dubai.
“In India, the ground staff does just one round of checks at base, while in Dubai, three to four rounds of checks take place for each aircraft. There’s also no guarantee that engineers will show up for this test in India. The quality of checks is very poor,” the technician said, requesting anonymity.
As of March 2025, 16 per cent of India’s fleet, approximately 133 aircraft, is grounded.
Go Airlines was the worst hit, grounding nearly half of its fleet in FY2024 due to faulty engines. Another airline, IndiGo, had around 60 to 70 of its aircraft grounded as of 30 January 2025.
Supply chain and engine failure hamper India’s engine growth, according to a Niti Aayog report on Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO).
But despite these drawbacks, India has a very positive outlook towards a healthy MRO industry in the country. India is set to become the third-largest buyer of commercial planes in the world after the US and China.
India strives to be the global hub for MROs, and service 90 per cent of all Indian MRO requirements by 2040.
The global aircraft fleet is also growing old, which increases the cost of maintenance and the chances of mishaps in the air. Indian MRO currently depends on foreign companies, but the government is trying for a domestic push.
NITI Aayog projects that the Indian MRO industry will grow to $4 billion by 2031 from $1.7 billion in 2021. The compound annual growth rate is 8.9 per cent.
How are your planes checked?
According to a report by NITI Aayog, the major Indian players in the MRO industry are Air India Engineering Services Ltd., Max MRO Pvt. Ltd., Air Works India (Engineering) Pvt. Ltd., Taj Air, Deccan Charters Ltd., Bird ExecuJet, Indamer Aviation Pvt. Ltd., and GMR Aero Technic Ltd.There are largely four segments in MRO—line maintenance (happens during operating hours), component maintenance (engine, landing gear), airframe heavy maintenance and modification (removes aircraft from operation for 30 days), engine maintenance (every 3-4 months).
There are 10 types of random and unscheduled maintenance checks of aircraft as well.
Indian airlines spend 12-15 per cent of their revenue on aircraft maintenance, according to the same report. Indian airlines also outsource engine and heavy maintenance work to third-party vendors.
