Air India has received approval from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation to carry out line maintenance on Airbus A350 and A320 aircraft. It is the first Indian operator to receive Civil Aviation Requirements 145 approval for A350 family aircraft.

The achievement marks an important step for Air India to ensure smooth operations and maintenance of the six A350s that will join its fleet through March 2024 in its first phase of the aircraft’s induction. The airline ordered 40 A350s as part of a larger order for 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft placed in February.

With this approval the airline has brought all A350 maintenance and repair capabilities in-house, reducing its dependency on third-party or foreign MRO providers for basic maintenance needs of its incoming fleet. The new capability ties into its policy to create a robust MRO ecosystem in India by developing capacity in-country.

Sisira Dash, chief technical officer at Air India, thanked his team members and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials to mark the moment. “This is a major boost for us to ensure maintenance and smooth operation for the A350 aircraft, the first of which will be joining our fleet shortly,” he said.

As the first Indian airline to induct the technologically advanced A350, Air India’s engineering team has been preparing in advance to ensure it is ready to service the aircraft type. Its engineering teams—comprising representatives from Air India, Vistara and AIX Connect—recently completed training at Airbus’ facility in Toulouse. Engineers took specialized courses on structure assessment and engine run-up, and senior executives from the engineering department took an A350 general familiarization course.

In addition, Air India’s technicians received extensive general familiarization training for the A350. The airline collaborated with SIA Engineering Company in Singapore to ensure its engineers received hands-on experience performing scheduled maintenance activities, inspections and other maintenance tasks for the A350.

The DGCA also reinstated approval for Air India's simulator facilities in Mumbai and Hyderabad.