Hainan Free Trade Port Aircraft Maintenance Base Sees Overseas Airframe Work Grow Ninefold Since 2023
Why It MattersBonded repair policies are turning Hainan into a competitive Asian maintenance hub, a sign that customs design and turnaround speed can shift where operators send aircraft for heavy work.
Aircraft from Qatar, Jordan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam are being serviced at the maintenance base at Hainan Free Trade Port in Haikou, as Hainan province builds a larger role in Asian aircraft repair. Overseas airframe maintenance has grown ninefold compared with 2023, the base's first full operating year, overseas aircraft painting has doubled, and half of all customers are now foreign. By the end of September the base had completed more than 3,000 aircraft maintenance jobs, over 390 full-aircraft paint jobs and 78,000 component repairs, serving more than 50 airlines and leasing companies.
Yang Wenbo, deputy director of the airport maintenance base at Grand China Aviation Maintenance Co, a subsidiary of HNA Technic, said bonded policies that exempt incoming aircraft from repair deposits and keep spare parts under bonded supervision cut clients' overall costs by 10 to 15 percent. Parts can be stored in an on-site bonded warehouse in advance and settled after use, and customs authorities at Haikou Meilan International Airport opened a green lane that lets aircraft landing in the early hours move directly into hangars once repairs are filed in advance. Narrow-body painting usually takes five to six days and wide-body work 12 to 15 days, nearly twice as fast as the industry norm for wide-bodies.
Base companies held 25 maintenance licenses from 19 countries and regions as of September. Haikou Engine Service Co holds CAAC, FAA and EASA certifications, and its 150,000-pound thrust test stand, the largest in China, completed the country's first GEnx-1B engine test run in 2025. Zero-tariff equipment imports have saved about 100 million yuan ($15 million) since 2021, and customs clearance from landing to factory entry has fallen from a day to 40 minutes. The base overhauled 13 engines in 2025, plans 22 this year and targets full capacity of 60 annually by 2028-29.
In 2025, Hainan ranked second in China, behind Xiamen in Fujian province, in supervised import-export value for bonded aviation repair, and the Haikou Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone ranked first among all evaluated zones. Since island-wide special customs operations began on Dec 18, the share of zero-tariff goods has risen from 21 to 74 percent, and a revised prohibited and restricted goods list allows repair of 305 product codes.
