Air India has announced plans for a new warehouse that will store one million spare parts, in a move to aimed at increasing fleet efficiency.
The facility will be located near the cargo complex of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, and will have a floor space of 5,000sq m (54,000sq ft).
It will store parts necessary for maintenance, checks and repairs of aircraft and ground support equipment.
“The warehouse is a major milestone for Air India and a reinforcement of the quality, professionalism, and investment that we are now committed to make,” says Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson.
“This world-class facility will not only boost Air India’s fleet and operational efficiency but will also strengthen India’s aviation ecosystem. The warehouse will offer us more proximate access to and better control over our aircraft spares enabling us to meet any engineering requirement promptly - leading to improved punctuality of flights.”
The carrier claims that the warehouse will be the first such facility in India, supporting a full range of aircraft systems and components.
It will see 16 “subscale and scattered locations” in New Delhi and Mumbai consolidated into a single location.
Air India adds that the warehouse will also support low-cost units Air India Express and AIX Connect, which are in the process of being merged. Air India itself has a pending merger with another Tata Group carrier, Vistara.
Air India is set for significant growth in the coming years. Cirium fleets data indicates that it has 114 aircraft in service and 13 in storage, but that its firm orders come to 458 aircraft.
