INSPECTION INSIGHT

Use of drones for maintenance inspections on commercial aircraft will improve aircraft availability for airlines

- ATUL CHANDRA

The commercial aviation Maintenance, Repair And Overhaul (MRO) industry is in the midst of a technological revolution, and one of the newest initiatives in this arena is the use of drones for aircraft maintenance inspections. A fundamental aspect of maintenance operations, aircraft inspections are a time-consuming and costly process, with manual inspections of a large commercial jetliner often taking several hours to be fully completed. The use of drones substantially reduces the time needed for these inspections. The implementation of drone technology for aircraft maintenance inspections will allow airlines to reduce maintenance costs and return their aircraft to service faster, supporting their efforts to reduce delays and cancellations for customers. With Indian carriers such as IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air all having large aircraft orders and growing operating schedules, it is expected that the use of drones in aircraft inspections will make its way to India sooner rather than later. However, at the moment, drone inspection for aircraft maintenance is the preserve of only a few international airlines.

A New Initiative

In what was an industry first, in October 2024, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration accepted an airline operator's plan to use drones for maintenance inspections. Delta is the first U.S. commercial operator to receive the FAA Certificate Management Office concurrence for using drones for maintenance inspections across its fleet. Delta began exploring the use of drones for maintenance inspections in 2017 and has partnered with one of the pioneering companies in this field, the Dutch drone specialist Mainblades.