A perspective view of T’way Air’s maintenance facility was provided by Incheon International Airport Corporation. Amid growing calls for the construction of maintenance facilities for Low-Cost Carriers (LCC) following the Jeju Air incident, Korea will establish its first LCC aircraft maintenance facility at Incheon International Airport.
Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 6th that it had recently signed an investment attraction implementation agreement with T’way Air for a new aircraft maintenance facility in the advanced complex aviation district at the airport corporation’s office. The maintenance facility is set to begin full-scale operations in early 2028, bringing a fresh dynamic to the domestic aircraft maintenance market, which has primarily centered around Full-Service Carriers (FSC).
Under this agreement, T’way Air will construct a hangar capable of simultaneously maintaining one E-class aircraft (approximately 350 seats) and four C-class aircraft (approximately 190 seats).
Once the new maintenance facility is operational, T’way Air, which previously relied on foreign maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) companies due to a lack of infrastructure, will be able to conduct its own maintenance. The airport corporation predicts that by attracting maintenance demand from other domestic LCCs in similar situations, it could significantly reduce the maintenance costs and time burdens for LCCs overall.
The airport corporation plans to use this agreement to leverage the advantages of being a global hub airport, aiming to attract maintenance demand from Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia in the short term, and from global LCCs in the long run. The operation is expected to induce about 478.4 billion won in production over ten years from construction and equipment investment and prevent the outflow of approximately 182.6 billion won in national maintenance wealth over 30 years by expanding domestic maintenance.
Especially, the airport corporation anticipates that this agreement will serve as a key element in ensuring the competitiveness of Incheon Airport’s advanced complex aviation district within the rapidly growing MRO market in the Asia-Pacific region.
Jung Hong-geun, CEO of T’way Air, emphasized the strengthening of the company’s maintenance capabilities through the construction and operation of hangars, a first for an LCC. He added, “We will continue to ensure global-level maintenance quality and a more specialized system.”
Lee Hak-jae, CEO of the airport corporation, stated, “We have successfully attracted Korea’s first LCC aircraft maintenance facility.” He expressed hopes to reduce the high reliance of domestic LCCs on overseas maintenance, noting, “In the long term, we can expand Incheon Airport’s brand by attracting overseas maintenance demand in the global aircraft MRO market.”