Turkish Technic opens seventh Istanbul hangar and signs GE Aerospace avionics repair licence
Why It MattersAirline-owned MRO arms are widening into third-party work through added floor space and OEM-licensed component capability, intensifying competition for narrow-body and avionics repair business.
Turkish Technic, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, has commissioned its seventh hangar at the former Atatürk Airport in Istanbul and signed a licensing agreement with GE Aerospace covering avionics repair, as it seeks a larger share of the third-party MRO market.
The new hangar, announced on 22 August 2026, is a refurbishment of a 1996-built facility that had been idle for some time. At 29,400 square metres, it can hold two narrow-body and one wide-body aircraft at the same time. Turkish Technic says the addition lifts its concurrent maintenance capacity in Istanbul to 57 aircraft and its enclosed floor space in the city past 850,000 square metres. The building also contains classrooms for trainee technicians.
The agreement with GE Aerospace was signed at the Farnborough International Airshow on 21 July 2026 and covers Data Link Control and Display Units (DCDUs), the cockpit hardware used for digital data-link messaging. GE Aerospace will supply dedicated test equipment, OEM parts and structured technical support, and will license the technical data needed for Turkish Technic to perform GE-authorised DCDU maintenance, repair and overhaul at its Istanbul shops. The initial term is five years, and the capability will be offered to domestic and international airlines.
Most of the company's 2026 third-party announcements have involved component pooling rather than airframe heavy checks. In January it signed a pool agreement covering Pakistani carrier AirSial's entire A320ceo fleet, and in March a multi-year agreement with Uzbekistan's Centrum Air for its A320 fleet. A separate agreement with Air India Express covers component exchange and repair for 190 Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft. Talks with Boeing and Airbus on a wide-body component pool at the Istanbul facility are ongoing.
