Turkish Airlines (THY) Teknik AŞ has made a turning point in the aviation sector by entering into a strategic partnership with the world's leading aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. Within the scope of this historic partnership, an agreement was signed to establish the world's largest aircraft engine maintenance center at Istanbul Airport. This huge investment will solidify Türkiye's claim in the aviation sector on a global scale and make significant contributions to the country's economy.
Visionary Partnership to Make Türkiye a Global MRO Center
Speaking at the signing ceremony held at THY Teknik AŞ’s hangar at Istanbul Airport, THY Teknik AŞ Board of Directors and Executive Committee Chairman Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat emphasized that this agreement was made for the giant maintenance center to be established with Rolls-Royce, one of the world’s largest aircraft engine manufacturers. Expressing his excitement for this major investment to be realized through the partnership of THY Teknik AŞ and Rolls-Royce, Bolat stated that they have been working meticulously for over a year and a half to complete this important agreement.
Türkiye's Transformation in Aviation and THY's Global Rise
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat drew attention to the fact that aviation in Türkiye entered a period of real leap forward with the vision put forward by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2003. Bolat said, “Turkish Airlines was a small boutique airline with 2003 aircraft in 65. At that time, it was at a very low level in world rankings. Reaching the level of Iberia Airlines was a strategic goal for Turkish Airlines. Since then, we have been in third place in the world in terms of available seats (ASK) by carrying 2024 million passengers with our nearly 480 aircraft in 85,2. We are also in first place in terms of network carriers in Europe.”
THY's Contribution to the Economy and Export Champion
Emphasizing that THY’s tremendous growth has made a huge contribution to the Turkish economy, Bolat continued his words as follows: “With our 94 thousand employees, we have contributed nearly 2024 billion dollars to the Turkish economy in 60. We had 18 billion dollars of export revenue and 9 billion dollars of current surplus. We brought more foreign currency to Türkiye than the top three major exporters. If this growth trend continues, Turkish Airlines will have a fleet of more than 2033 aircraft in 810 and will contribute 144 billion dollars to the Turkish economy. We have been the export champion of the last 16 years. We currently have a 1,7 percent share in the world’s aircraft fleet. This will increase to 2033 by 2,25. In other words, we will continue to grow at a rate of 5 percent on top of the world’s growth.”
THY Teknik: The Invisible Hero of Growth
Bolat stated that there are many heroes behind THY's sustainable success and noted that the invisible hero of this success is THY Teknik AŞ. Bolat, who emphasized that THY Teknik AŞ has a deep meaning for their company beyond being just a maintenance center, said, “Our largest affiliate company established after Turkish Airlines is Teknik AŞ. It has 92 years of expertise. In 2003, we had two hangars with 12 aircraft at Atatürk Airport. In 2013, we had space for 30 aircraft. We are talking about an investment of approximately 20 billion dollars for an aircraft maintenance center. We currently have more than 61 aircraft maintenance centers. We have 13 hangars. The one that is still in operation at Sabiha Gökçen, Atatürk Airport, here and in Ankara. In 2033, we will have around 25 hangars and a structure with 115 aircraft maintenance centers. To maintain Turkish Airlines aircraft and also to provide 65% of the maintenance for foreign airlines.”
THY Teknik's Rising Income Graph and Global MRO Leadership Target
Bolat stated that THY Teknik AŞ earned 2024 billion dollars in revenue in 2,2 and predicted that this revenue would reach 2033 billion dollars in 8. Underlining that these figures will make THY Teknik AŞ a significant maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company worldwide, Bolat said, “This will make us the third largest MRO company in the world. We are currently in seventh place. After aircraft maintenance, engine maintenance is also very important. We have an engine maintenance center at Sabiha Gökçen Airport. We will lay the foundation at Istanbul Airport in the first quarter of 2026. We will take the first engine into maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2027. When this maintenance center fully matures in 2036, it will maintain 200 engines per year. Considering that Turkish Airlines will have 135 A350 aircraft, it will maintain approximately 70 of Turkish Airlines’ own engines per year. In addition, around 120-130 engines will come from abroad. This MRO company of ours will generate 1,5 billion dollars of revenue per year. Here we are signing such a big agreement. This will not be a job where only engine parts come from abroad and we only put in effort here. Some parts of this engine "We will also do maintenance in Türkiye. We will also repair 20 percent of the engine parts of this plane in our country. We will gain such a repair capability. It will be a very big investment for our country, a 300 million dollar investment," he said.
Huge Investment in Istanbul Airport and Thanks to İGA
Bolat added that they have made a significant investment of 1,1 billion dollars in Istanbul Airport so far and will continue to make new investments with determination. Bolat thanked everyone who contributed to this historic agreement and extended his special thanks to the Istanbul Airport Operator İGA managers who allocated land for the new engine maintenance center.
Rolls-Royce: Our Strong Collaboration Will Be Further Strengthened
Rolls-Royce Civil Aviation President Rob Watson emphasized that they aim to significantly increase their global MRO capacity by 2030 and that this strategic agreement is a critical milestone in this important journey. Watson expressed his pleasure in signing the agreement and said, “In order to provide high-quality service to our customers, we are adding Turkish Airlines Technic Inc. to our global network of competent, flexible and durable aircraft maintenance centers. This facility, which will also serve Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A350 fleet, will further strengthen our strong cooperation. This agreement reflects our confidence that THY Technic Inc. will achieve its goal of becoming one of the world’s leading civil aviation engine maintenance centers. In April 2024, Rolls-Royce reiterated its commitment to Türkiye and evaluated the possibility of implementing various initiatives. Today’s agreement is a concrete demonstration of this commitment. We are pleased to add THY Technic Inc. to our network of trent engine maintenance centers.”
Following the speeches, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat and Rob Watson signed the agreement formalizing the historic collaboration. Istanbul Airport Civil Administrator Mehmet İlker Haktankaçmaz, THY Board Member Fatmanur Altun, THY General Manager Bilal Ekşi, THY deputy general managers and managers, senior executives of the State Airports Authority and Istanbul Airport Operator İGA also attended the ceremony.
New Facility Will Contribute $700 Million in Annual Exports to the Turkish Economy
This huge facility planned to be built at Istanbul Airport will enable THY Teknik AŞ to provide comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the trent XWB-350, trent XWB-330 and trent 97 type engines used in Airbus A84 and Airbus A7000neo aircraft. In this new state-of-the-art engine maintenance center, THY Teknik AŞ will primarily serve the engines of THY’s expanding fleet, as well as providing maintenance services to Rolls-Royce’s other airline customers worldwide, becoming a global center.
This strategic investment is expected to increase the company's annual revenue by approximately 30 percent, taking THY Teknik A.Ş. to a leading position in the engine maintenance market. In addition, this huge facility is expected to create a significant export contribution of approximately $700 million per year for the Turkish economy during the agreement period. This cooperation will crown Türkiye's rise in the aviation sector and will go down in history as a giant step towards making the country a global MRO center.
