New hangar receives its first aircraft

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting an end to the long wait, the Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility of Air India in the city received its first aircraft on Wednesday. A towing tractor pulled the Boeing 737-800 to the hangar in the afternoon.  ‘’The aircraft will be subjected to a regular phase check,’’ Air India officials said. Works were started in the afternoon and the aircraft is likely to leave the hangar this week itself, the authorities said. The hangar will  function regularly from Thursday. There are a staff of around 40 at present.  Though the Rs 110-crore hangar unit was commissioned last December, some vital works were pending then. The Air India authorities here were executing the final works on a war footing to secure the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) clearance. The BCAS team which inspected the twin-hangar facility early this month had asked Air India to submit an SOP and  do some additional works. The hangar received the clearance last Friday. A team from the Air India Engineering Division was in the city during the last few weeks to supervise the final works. The team left for Mumbai on Wednesday morning.