Air India plans to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) base for its operations in the Middle East in Dubai from end-July.
The centre will be stocked with spares and other inventory, and will also have stand-by aircraft with crew which can be deployed in cases of flight delays, says an Air India spokesman.
"We have expanded our operations quite significantly in the Middle East, and there have been some small glitches when spare parts are not available," he adds.
A maintenance centre in Dubai will minimise the need to have parts sent from Mumbai, says the spokesman.
The carrier is reviewing its operations in the Middle East in the wake of a deadly crash last month involving an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which overran the runway at Mangalore International Airport in southern India after a flight from Dubai.
However, Air India's spokesman says that the plan to set up a maintenance centre in Dubai is not an indication that maintenance fault was behind the crash.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
