Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar has said that the Centre was considering transforming the HAL Airport into a Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling (MRO) hub.
Speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a signal-free corridor here on Saturday, Mr. Ananth Kumar sought the support of the State government to make Bangalore the aerospace capital.
“After the airport shifted to Devanahalli, the HAL Airport has not been functional. Developing this into an MRO hub on the lines of the system in Singapore could help reduce ‘C’ check costs,” he said.
Check flights‘C’ checks are carried out at MRO hubs after every 3,000 flights or in 15 months. Engineers repair components, test major internal mechanisms and calibrate flight control, during the checks.
Mr. Ananth Kumar said the presence of industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Defence Research and Development Organisation and National Aerospace Laboratories, would help develop HAL Airport into an MRO hub, on the lines of the system in Singapore.
“As many as 300 aircrafts can be checked annually which would help save immense costs as many aircraft are taken either to Singapore or the United States for ‘C’ checks. Besides, developing the airport into an MRO hub would provide job opportunities as well,” Mr. Kumar said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the State government was willing to support the proposal and added that further dialogue could be initiated with Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation G.M. Siddeshwar.
