– New facility adds momentum to the region’s aviation sector growth
Turkish Airlines has launched its new maintenance and repair center, a state-of-the-art MRO facility, representing an investment of around USD 550 million, by Turkish Airlines’ industry-leading subsidiary Turkish Technic Inc. Named HABOM, the world-class facility at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport aims to increase the technical maintenance and repair capacity and capability available to both Turkish Airlines and third party customers. With the start of operations at this facility, Turkish Technic aims to become one of the top 5 MRO providers in the world.
HABOM’s location makes it a convenient MRO option for 39% of the world’s civilian aircraft and has 55 countries lying within a 3.5 hour flying radius. HABOM facilities, when fully operational, will have 7,000 personnel and is expected to produce annual revenue of USD 1,5 billion.
The opening ceremony was held in the new MRO center at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. In attendance were the Esteemed Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Finance Minister of Turkey, Mr. Mehmet Şimşek, Transport – Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister of Turkey, Mr. Lütfi Elvan, Turkish Defense Industry Undersecretary, Mr. İsmail Demir, Turkish Airlines’ Board Chairman, Mr. Hamdi Topçu, Turkish Airlines’ CEO, Mr. Temel Kotil Ph.D. and Turkish Technic Inc.’ CEO, Mr. Ahmet Karaman.
The facility has an integrated structure and a closed area of 380,000 m2. It has the capacity to provide simultaneous maintenance, repair and overhaul services for 11 narrow body aircraft in the dedicated narrow body hangar and 3 wide body aircraft in the wide body hangar. A section of the wide body hangar was designed to be partitioned off to provide paint services for either 2 narrow bodies or a single wide body aircraft. In the annex, many shops will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircraft components, including APUs and landing gear.
The HABOM facility, designed to be a center of excellence in operational terms, has been outfitted with the most modern maintenance equiptments using the latest technology. Additionally, it is structured to be part of a modern aviation campus that also includes social facilities for the employees.
With the HABOM facilities, Turkish Technic’s narrow body aircraft maintenance capacity will increase by 57%, wide body aircraft maintenance capacity by 43%, and closed area capacity by 193%.
The aim of the HABOM project, beyond setting up a facility that provides maintenance repair and overhaul services, is the creation of an aviation complex that attracts, and provides space for, firms operating in other areas of aviation, particularly companies that are manufacturing products for the aviation industry. In line with this goal, the Turkish Cabin Interior (TCI) company, an aircraft galley and galley equipment manufacturer, is located within the HABOM boundaries and Turkish Seat Industries (TSI), a manufacturer of aircraft seats, is expected to soon relocate to the HABOM area.
Bringing the HABOM aviation complex on line raises the bar in the field of aviation maintenance and is an important milestone on the road to the production of a national civil passenger aircraft, part of the Turkish Republic’s 2023 Vision.
