Outsourcing/Offshoring Of Aviation Maintenance

Outsourcing/Offshoring of Aviation Maintenance

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Outsourcing/Offshoring of Aviation Maintenance

Aviation maintenance or aircraft maintenance is a discipline that refers to the performance of all the tasks that are required for the continuous airworthiness of an aircraft or a part of the aircraft. This practice includes inspection, overhaul, defect rectification, replacement, the embodiment of modifications, compliance with airworthiness directives and repairs (Başdere, & Bilge, 2014). It is a highly sensitive and well-regulated function, to ensure safety and proper functioning during the flight.

Outsourcing or offshoring of the aircraft maintenance has become a sensitive and questionable topic in the recent times considering the bulk of the passengers that are being carried on a daily basis by the aircraft industry (Quinlan, Hampson, & Gregson, 2013). This topic has also become a hot cake due to the increasing number of accidents happening currently in the airline industry. The subject has become an issue of public debate since a number of air crashes are taking place with the air crafts of the companies that have either outsourced the aircraft maintenance or sent their airplanes offshore for this purpose.

Experts have the opinion that outsourcing of the aviation or aircraft maintenance can lead to dangerous consequences as the outsourced facility or the offshore company may not take into consideration the safety measures or protocols required for the aviation industry. Research has shown that the number of air crafts being sent offshore for maintenance or the outsourced maintenance work has increased considerably over the past few years. As per an estimate presented by Forbes, the amount of outsourced maintenance work especially on heavy air crafts, especially passenger buses has risen up to 24%, which was as low as 7% back in 2003 (Reed, 2018). The reason for this rise has been identified as the less cost and perceived high efficiency of the offshore companies in the care and maintenance of the aircraft body.

References

Başdere, M., & Bilge, Ü. (2014). Operational aircraft maintenance routing problem with remaining time consideration. European Journal of Operational Research, 235(1), 315-328.

Quinlan, M., Hampson, I., & Gregson, S. (2013). Outsourcing and offshoring aircraft maintenance in the US: Implications for safety. Safety Science, 57, 283-292.

Reed, T. (2018). Amount Of Outsourced Offshore Airline Maintenance Work Has Risen, Report Says. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2018/04/06/amount-of-outsourced-offshore-airline-maintenance-work-has-risen-report-says/#79d54acf26e2