More global airlines using Hainan as MRO hub

AIKOU: A Boeing 787-8 operated by a Jordanian airline has become the latest widebody aircraft to undergo a full heavy maintenance check in South China’s Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), highlighting how tax breaks and streamlined customs are drawing foreign carriers to the fast-growing aircraft repair hub.

The aircraft arrived at Haikou Meilan International Airport this week and cleared customs within hours under a pre-approval system, before being towed into a hangar at the FTP’s one-stop aircraft maintenance base for a 66-day overhaul and cabin refit.

The base is operated by Grand China Aviation Maintenance Co, a subsidiary of HNA Technic Co Ltd.

As China advances the development of Hainan FTP, experts said the combination of tax incentives, regulatory openness and an integrated industrial chain – from airframes and engine overhauls to component repairs and material supplies – is turning Haikou into a new node in the global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) network, industry experts said.

Inside hangars, jets from Qatar, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea were lined up for servicing.

Pointing to aircraft parked in the hangar, Yang Wenbo, deputy director of the aircraft maintenance base, said overseas business has surged.

“The number of foreign-registered aircraft we serviced in the first half of last year nearly matched the total for all of 2024,” Yang said.