Korean Air faces maintenance capacity crunch from Asiana acquisition

Korean Air faces a maintenance capacity crunch as its merger with Asiana Airlines will create a fleet of more than 230 aircraft when the integrated carrier launches in December. The airline says it must secure more heavy-maintenance capacity while expanding its own facilities. It is investing in a new Incheon maintenance hangar and an engine maintenance center, but both projects will take time. More than 60 percent of Korea’s aircraft maintenance demand was handled overseas in 2024.

The integrated carrier will employ more than 4,000 maintenance workers.

Korean Air and Incheon International Airport Corp. agreed to invest 176 billion won to build a next-generation maintenance hangar at Incheon Airport’s High-Tech Aviation Complex.

The new hangar will accommodate two wide-body aircraft and one narrow-body aircraft at the same time, with construction set to begin in 2027 and operations planned for late 2029.

A new engine maintenance center on Incheon’s Yeongjong Island is scheduled for completion in 2027 and could generate up to 150 billion won in annual operating profit once fully operational.

In 2024, more than 60 percent of Korea’s aircraft maintenance demand, or about 2.4 trillion won out of 3.9 trillion won, was handled overseas.

Published Sep 28, 2026 7:00 am KST

Lowering overseas MRO dependence key to post-integration stability

Korean Air's Boeing 787-9 passenger jet / Courtesy of Korean Air

Korean Air faces a growing maintenance capacity challenge, as its acquisition of Asiana Airlines creates a fleet of more than 230 aircraft at a time when heavy-maintenance slots remain increasingly difficult to secure across Asia.

The integrated carrier, scheduled to launch in December, will operate the larger fleet and employ more than 4,000 maintenance workers. It will require more airframe, engine and component maintenance that must be handled internally or secured through outside maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) providers.

However, constrained global MRO capacity and a shortage of international heavy-maintenance slots have become a material operational risk to Korean Air. Securing wide-body base-maintenance slots has become particularly difficult across Southeast Asia.

Korean Air is responding by expanding its own capabilities. In November last year, the airline and Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) agreed to invest 176 billion won ($130 million) to build a next-generation maintenance hangar at the airport's High-Tech Aviation Complex.

The facility will be able to accommodate two wide-body aircraft and one narrow-body aircraft simultaneously, with construction scheduled to begin in 2027 and operations planned for late 2029.

A Boeing 777 passenger aircraft is converted into a freighter at a cargo aircraft conversion facility in Incheon International Airport's High-Tech Aviation Complex on Yeongjong Island, Aug. 6. Joint Press Corps

The airline is also strengthening its engine MRO business. A new engine maintenance center on Incheon's Yeongjong Island is scheduled for completion in 2027, with industry estimates suggesting it could generate up to 150 billion won in annual operating profit once fully operational.

But the expansion will take time, leaving the carrier exposed to capacity constraints during the integration period. Korea's MRO infrastructure also remains limited. More than 60 percent of Korea’s aircraft maintenance demand was handled overseas in 2024, amounting to about 2.4 trillion won out of a total 3.9 trillion won, according to data from IIAC.

The airport operator has identified the lack of domestic capacity, along with high labor costs and large upfront investments as key factors behind the country's heavy reliance on overseas MRO providers.

That dependence could become more significant, as the merged carrier seeks to integrate two fleets while maintaining high aircraft utilization.

The acquisition also brings their three low-cost carrier subsidiaries — Jin Air, Air Busan and Air Seoul — under a single operating structure, further increasing the number of aircraft that will require coordinated maintenance support.

“For Korean Air, the key task is to ensure stable maintenance operations following the merger with Asiana to quickly reduce reliance on scarce overseas capacity without creating operational bottlenecks during the integration,” an official from the industry said.

Incheon airport aims at becoming Asian MRO hub

Korean Air-Asiana merger enters final phase

大韩航空与韩亚航空合并后，将于12月成立一家拥有超过230架飞机的综合航空公司，合并后的机队规模将超过230架，因此大韩航空面临着维修能力短缺的问题。该公司表示，在扩建自身设施的同时，必须确保获得更多的重型维修能力。目前，大韩航空正在投资建设位于仁川的新维修机库和发动机维修中心，但这两个项目都需要时间才能完成。预计到2024年，韩国超过60%的飞机维修需求将由海外完成。

这家综合性航空公司将雇用超过4000名维修工人。

大韩航空和仁川国际机场公司同意投资 1760 亿韩元，在仁川机场高科技航空综合体建造一座新一代维修机库。

新机库可同时容纳两架宽体飞机和一架窄体飞机，预计将于 2027 年开始建设，并计划于 2029 年底投入运营。

位于仁川永宗岛的新发动机维修中心计划于 2027 年竣工，全面投入运营后，每年可产生高达 1500 亿韩元的营业利润。

2024年，韩国超过60%的飞机维修需求（约占3.9万亿韩元中的2.4万亿韩元）在海外进行。

发布于2026年9月28日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

降低对海外MRO的依赖是一体化后稳定的关键

大韩航空波音787-9客机 / 图片由大韩航空提供

大韩航空面临着日益严峻的维修能力挑战，因为收购韩亚航空后，其机队规模超过 230 架飞机，而此时在亚洲各地获得大修时刻仍然越来越困难。

这家计划于12月成立的综合性航空公司将运营规模更大的机队，并雇用超过4000名维修人员。这将需要更多的机身、发动机和部件维护，这些维护工作必须由内部完成，或者通过外部维护、修理和运营（MRO）供应商来完成。

然而，全球维修能力受限和国际大修时刻短缺已成为大韩航空面临的重大运营风险。在东南亚地区，获取宽体飞机基地维修时刻尤其困难。

大韩航空正通过提升自身能力来应对挑战。去年11月，该公司与仁川国际机场公司（IIAC）达成协议，投资1760亿韩元（约合1.3亿美元）在机场高科技航空综合体内建设一座新一代维修机库。

该设施可同时容纳两架宽体飞机和一架窄体飞机，计划于 2027 年开始建设，并计划于 2029 年底投入运营。

8月6日，在仁川国际机场永宗岛高科技航空园区的一处货机改装设施内，一架波音777客机被改装成货机。（联合记者团）

该航空公司也在加强其发动机维修业务。位于仁川永宗岛的新发动机维修中心计划于2027年竣工，业内人士估计，该中心全面投入运营后，每年可产生高达1500亿韩元的营业利润。

但扩张需要时间，在整合期间，该航空公司将面临运力限制。韩国的飞机维修、修理和大修（MRO）基础设施仍然有限。根据韩国国际航空工业协会（IIAC）的数据，到2024年，韩国超过60%的飞机维修需求将由海外完成，总额约为2.4万亿韩元，而韩国飞机维修总需求为3.9万亿韩元。

机场运营商指出，国内产能不足、劳动力成本高昂以及前期投资巨大是该国严重依赖海外MRO供应商的关键因素。

随着合并后的航空公司寻求整合两支机队并保持较高的飞机利用率，这种依赖性可能会变得更加显著。

此次收购还将他们的三家低成本航空公司子公司——真航空、釜山航空和首尔航空——纳入一个统一的运营结构，进一步增加了需要协调维护支持的飞机数量。

一位业内人士表示：“对于大韩航空来说，关键任务是在与韩亚航空合并后确保稳定的维护运营，以便迅速减少对稀缺海外运力的依赖，同时避免在整合过程中造成运营瓶颈。”

仁川机场的目标是成为亚洲的MRO枢纽

大韩航空与亚洲航空合并进入最后阶段