Thiruvananthapuram aircraft maintenance base to be opened soon

Thiruvananthapuram: Air India's (AI) aircraft maintenance base, a joint venture of the AI and the U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing, that has come up near the new international terminal building of Thiruvananthapuram airport is all set for commissioning.
A trial run, carried out last week using an Air India Express (AIE) aircraft from the hangar to the tarmac, through a parallel taxiway, was successful. Inventory needed for the functioning of the base is being prepared, according to AI sources.
The formal commissioning of the base will be done either during the third or fourth week of September by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi. Although the facility would be declared open at the function, it would be operational only after some time, the sources said.
The base will function as a unit of the aircraft maintenance-cum-training facility coming up at Nagpur in Maharashtra. It will take care of the day-to-day maintenance of Boeing 737-800 aircraft used by AIE, the budget airline of AI. The base here can take up maintenance of two aircraft at a time.
AIE, which has 21 aircraft, will benefit immensely from the base. Of the 21 aircraft, the airline operates 18 at a time and three are in the hangar.
17/09/11 S Anil Radahakrishnan/The Hindu

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Categories: Air India Sep 2011, New Sep 2011