GMR AERO Technic Ltd, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility based at Hyderabad, has lost its European certification to carry out MRO work on aircraft that fly with European certification.
This follows the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspending its certification on November 12 this year.
In effect, this means the facility will be unable to do MRO checks on foreign carriers which insist on EASA certification.
Approval suspended
Confirming the development, a spokesman of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd told
The spokesperson added that as a business imperative, GMR Aero Technic (GAT) holds approval and certification from a number of international civil aviation authorities including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation here and the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States. These approvals enable GAT to render services to aircraft registered under their respective regulatory jurisdictions.
GMR AERO Technic Ltd is a 100 per cent subsidiary of GMR Aerospace Engineering Ltd which runs the MRO business.
The EASA order states that it, “Partially suspended – temporary removal in part of the approval. The approval is held in abeyance in whole or in part until compliance is re-established. No certify issue or re-issue is required.”
Other approvals unaffected
An EASA spokesperson, through an email interaction, said that it will “depend on the progress made by the organisation” when asked as to how long is the process for getting EASA certification again.
“The suspension of the EASA certification only affects the ability of this organisation to maintain and release to service aircraft that are registered in an European Union Member State or components to be fitted on such aircraft. It does not affect other approvals held by this organisation (e.g. DGCA India) and the privileges obtained under such approvals,” the EASA spokesperson said.
Industry watchers say the latest development does not augur well for the country. “Lessors may not want to get their assets serviced in India. It is equally possible that their faith in the Indian regulatory agency will get eroded,” an industry watcher said adding that every MRO holding EASA approvals will be subject to intensive audits which will involve a deep dive into documents, procedures, processes, stores and licences of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers, cross referencing parts’ stocks and parts issued/installed on aircraft during checks.
GAT clientele
GMR AERO Technic website says it performs maintenance checks for the Airbus A320 family, the Boeing B737-NG, ATR 42/72 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft types. Operational since 2011, its customer base includes domestic airlines Go Air, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Indigo and Vistara. International airlines such as Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, Flynas and Oman Air also make use of its facility.