Turkish Technic has completed construction of new base maintenance hangars at its MRO complex located at Istanbul Airport.

The MRO subsidiary of Turkish Airlines said in a statement released Oct. 10 that the new 645,000 sq. ft. MRO complex in the country’s capital has capacity for three widebody and six narrowbody aircraft simultaneously. 

Construction of the hangar has also seen a raft of environmentally friendly initiatives rolled out, such as water being generated through rainwater harvesting and the use of solar-powered energy. This will be achieved through translucent polycarbonate panels that allow exposure to longer periods of sunlight while waste oil taken out of aircraft fuel tanks will be recycled to aid the running of the heating system.

Long-term, Turkish Technic believes the new hangars will further increase its competitive edge in the commercial aftermarket. “Believing that Istanbul Airport is the new aviation hub of Turkey and the world, we maximize the technical services we provide here with such investments,” said Ahmet Karaman, general manager of Turkish Technic.

Karaman says the first airline customers have already entered aircraft into the hangar. He adds: “Upon the completion of all phases in our MRO complex consisting of environmentally friendly structures, we will be able to provide maintenance services to 45 aircraft simultaneously.’’

Istanbul Airport cost around $12 billion to build and officially opened in April 2019. By 2028, it is projected to become the largest airport in the world by passenger numbers with capacity to cater for 200 million passengers annually once its four runways and six terminals are fully operational.

Turkish Technic has already moved some of its operations such as line maintenance services across from its former Istanbul Ataturk Airport site, where it operated five widebody and seven narrowbody hangars. 

These include line maintenance services, A checks, cabin maintenance, structural repair and component pool services as the MRO aims for the airport to act as a single-source maintenance location.

It also continues to run hangar operations at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul and in Ankara.