British Airways (BA) has announced the acquisition of Boeingโs hangar facility and MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) business at Gatwick Airport, securing jobs and expanding its presence at this key aviation hub.
This strategic move will bring additional expertise, skills, and state-of-the-art facilities into BAโs engineering operations, ultimately enhancing service reliability and benefiting customers.
As part of the acquisition, BA will establish a new wholly-owned engineering subsidiary, British Airways Engineering Gatwick (BAEG). This new entity will integrate with BAโs existing engineering divisions in South Wales (BAEW) and Glasgow (BAMG). Boeing employees currently working at the facility will transition to BAEG in the second quarter of this year, following an employee information and consultation process.
British Airwaysโ Chief Technical Officer, Andy Best, emphasized the significance of this investment:
โTodayโs announcement strengthens our engineering capabilities by integrating the expertise of former Boeing colleagues and adding a large, modern hangar to our facilities. This will enhance fleet reliability, benefiting both our customers and employees.
โWe take great pride in our Gatwick operations, and this acquisition reinforces our commitment to the airport. I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues, including highly skilled and experienced Licensed Aircraft Engineers, to the British Airways family and hope to expand our team further in the future.โ
This expansion represents a significant investment in BAโs engineering strategy. Over time, the airline plans to grow this facility and recruit additional team members. BAโs existing engineering operation at Gatwick plays a crucial role as a key hub within its network, and this acquisition will further strengthen its capabilities.
With the Boeing facility under BAโs ownership, the airline will increase its ability to conduct minor maintenance on its 777 aircraft at Gatwick. The additional capacity will also enable BA to in-source scheduled heavy maintenance for its A320/A321 fleet while enhancing its ability to perform unscheduled repair work. Moreover, this acquisition will bolster maintenance resilience across the network and ease capacity constraints at other BA maintenance locations.
By expanding its maintenance operations at Gatwick, BA can reduce the need to ferry aircraft to other bases, aligning with the airlineโs broader sustainability objectives and operational efficiency goals.
This investment solidifies British Airwaysโ commitment to Gatwick and underscores its long-term vision for strengthening engineering excellence within the airline.
