The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) identified the Tirupati airport for development as a hub for aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) among eight airports in the country. Accordingly, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) called for bids to be submitted by May 5. The MRO facility is to be provided on a design, build, operate, maintain and transfer basis.
According to a report of Invest India titled ‘Tirupati - Unleashing MRO potential’ released in March, the aircraft movements at Tirupati airport registered a significant increase from 7,094 in 2017-18 to 10,738 in 2018-19 but fell to 9,589 in 2019-20 and to a further low level of 4,452 in 2020-21 when COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. The movements increased by 49% to 6,613 in 2021-22.
A total of 6,57,193 passengers travelled in 2017-18 and 8,47,905 in 2018-19. The numbers in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 were 8,34,660, 3,42,967 and 5,02,723 respectively.
MRO services at the Tirupati airport can serve the existing traffic and share the load of new fleet deployed by airlines to cater to the increasing demand. IndiGo has the largest share of 34% in the total aircraft movement followed by Spice Jet (30%), Air India, Alliance Air and Trujet (10 each) and Star Air (6%).
CM hails decision
Thanking the MoCA for choosing Tirupati airport as a hub for aircraft MRO facilities, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the temple town had significant air traffic and demand and it was well supported by ancillary industries. Tirupati’s strategic location and access to the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and East Asia and strong regional connectivity were advantageous in realising its potential as an aircraft MRO hub.
Tirupati MP M. Gurumoorthy said Tirupati was a spiritual destination for over 1.20 billion Hindus across the world and it was adjudged as the Best Heritage City by the Ministry of Tourism. The airport recorded consistent growth in the number of domestic and international tourists over the years. Due to its well-established connectivity to all major south Indian cities and regional airports, Tirupati was an ideal place to have aircraft MRO needs, he added.
