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The aerospace industry is set for a decade of rapid expansion, but behind the surge in demand lies a growing challenge—keeping up with the maintenance needs of a swelling global fleet. fueling the need for new aircraft.

As airlines push for greater efficiency amid growing backlog, maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations are under pressure to scale. However, supply chain disruptions, engine durability issues, and delayed retirements are straining the system, demanding urgent innovation in MRO strategies to sustain this growth.

Evolving MRO strategies: Key trends, investments, and challenges

Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) operations are the backbone of aviation, ensuring aircraft remain airworthy, safe, and available for service. But as global fleets expand and aircraft lifespans extend, the MRO sector is under mounting pressure to scale efficiently while navigating increasingly complex challenges.

MRO is often associated with heavy maintenance cycles, which require aircraft to be taken out of service for months at a time. These checks—conducted every 60, 90, or 120 months, depending on usage and OEM recommendations—can involve a complete overhaul. A D-check, for example, requires stripping the aircraft down to its core: engines, landing gear, interior panels, and even lavatories are removed for inspection and restoration. Similarly, engine MRO providers spend three months restoring engines to full performance. In a typical MRO process, incoming inspections are also often performed before the disassembly of modules and assembly begins.

The financial stakes are massive. Air transport MRO spending is , growing at a CAGR of 4.88% from 2025. Engine maintenance alone accounts for 45% of this spend, making it the largest cost driver, followed by component maintenance (21%), line maintenance (19%), and airframe overhauls ($6 billion).

But ramping up MRO operations is not simply a matter of scaling capacity. Several key challenges are slowing the industry’s ability to keep pace with demand:

Skilled Workforce: The industry faces a brain drain of experienced engineers and technicians, with 690,000 new MRO technicians needed over the next 20 years to sustain global operations.

Availability of parts: A shortage of critical components—such as castings, engine assemblies, and repair shop capacity—is straining MRO service providers, leading to extended turnaround times (TAT) and making it increasingly difficult to meet operational targets.

Licensing and compliance issues: MRO service providers must adhere to strict safety standards and keep thorough documentation required for airworthiness verification by regulatory agencies. Intense FAA/EASA audits of MRO provider’s documents, processes, stores, AME licensing, stock referring and parts issued or fitted in the aircraft, etc., which are lengthy and logistically cumbersome processes.

Capacity and infrastructure constraints: As more aircraft remain in service longer, MRO facilities are struggling to keep up with demand, requiring significant investment in new hangars, tooling, and workforce expansion.

Shifting markets and emerging players

The commercial aircraft MRO market remains highly fragmented, with numerous providers offering specialized services at both global and regional levels.

Leading players such as GE Aviation, AAR CORP, Safran SA, RTX Corporation, and Lufthansa Technik AG have traditionally dominated the industry, particularly in North America and Europe. However, the market is undergoing a significant geographic shift, with Asia-Pacific emerging as a key growth hub.

Driven by rising air travel demand and fleet expansion, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to see the . The region currently operates one-third of the global commercial aircraft fleet, and the fleet in the area is expected to reach over 13,000 aircraft by 2031, with China’s airline fleet accounting for over 45% of the region’s total.

Additionally, the extension of airline lease contracts in Asia-Pacific has increased the average aircraft age to between 18 and 24 years. This trend has increased the number of in-service aircraft while reducing overall retirements, driving greater demand for MRO services to support fleet longevity and maintenance needs in the region.

The limitations of traditional MRO solutions

MRO operations rely heavily on labor-intensive paperwork, making it difficult to maintain agility and responsiveness.

Traditionally, resource planning and scheduling in MRO operations have been manual processes, carried out in silos with limited data integration and minimal cross-functional collaboration between engineering, procurement, logistics, and accounting divisions. Time and cost estimation, capacity planning, and workload assessments still rely heavily on the experience and maturity level of individual technicians, making the process inconsistent and difficult to optimize.

The lack of accurate workload estimation significantly impacts costs and Turnaround Time (TAT). Since an exact assessment of time and effort is only possible after disassembling a system or component, the true scope of work—and the necessary equipment and expertise—remains unknown until the teardown process begins. Ordering spare parts only after disassembly adds further delays, as lead times for procurement, receipt, and acceptance extend the overall TAT.

Beyond scheduled maintenance, unplanned aircraft visits to MRO facilities introduce even greater complexity. With most processes still manual, predictive maintenance remains a challenge due to limited access to historical data, making decision-making more reactive than proactive. Additionally, the lack of structured knowledge retention is hampering workforce development, slowing technician autonomy, and making it harder for organizations to build a skilled and efficient MRO workforce.

Technology adoption & embracing digital transformation

An integrated, enterprise-wide IT solution for engine MRO Service providers can introduce a high level of intelligent automation, integrating people, processes, and data at a single platform. This transformation enables MRO organizations to achieve key objectives, including:

• Reduced TAT and cost optimization
• Integrating people, process and capacity
• Collaboration with all the stakeholders/ process owners across the lifecycle
• Real time monitoring and analysis of operational efficiencies

MRO organizations are investing in artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, big data, and blockchain technologies to improve operational efficiency of MRO activities and achieve the above goals.

With huge amounts of historical data available with MRO service providers,coupled with matured Machine Learning Models and advancements in Artificial Intelligence, it is possible to make accurate predictions about when a repair job could come in next, which spare parts are most likely to be on demand and what the associated costs and risks of any unanticipated event, taking predictive maintenance to much efficient level and optimized inventory management.

The adoption of drones, robotics, and vision systems has also accelerated inspection and anomaly detection, making them faster and more precise. Meanwhile, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is helping MRO service providers automate backend processes, enhancing overall operational efficiency and reducing manual workload.

Conclusion

The MRO industry is set for continued growth, driven by a focus on efficiency and high productivity. To balance TAT and execution costs while delivering cost-effective solutions, MRO service providers are increasingly investing in intelligent enterprise software. These advanced systems streamline and automate critical operations, including contract planning, maintenance execution, performance reporting, and invoicing, ensuring greater precision, efficiency, and scalability.

ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ is actively working with customers in the MRO space to turn around digital and intelligent services in the space enabling our customers to optimize operations and enable a more proactive and predictive approach to MRO operations.

Meet with us at AeroIndia 2025 (Hall H, Booth, 1.7) to discuss the transformative power of digital technology to transform MRO. Click here to learn more about our presence and for updates from my colleagues.

Learn more:

Digital Continuity in the Aerospace Industry

Digital Twins in Aerospace and Defense

Intelligent Supply Chain for the Aerospace and Defense Industry

TechnoVision 2024: Aerospace and Defense