Air Works appoints A K Singh independent director

Aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider Air Works on Tuesday announced the appointment of former army general and former Lt Governor of Andaman Nicobar and Pondicherry A K Singh as an independent director of the company.

His appointment will be subject to the receipt of all requisite government and regulatory approvals, including security clearance, Air Works said in a release.

The company, which completed 70 years of operations last month, has a pan-India network across 27 locations and serving both civil and military customers that include global OEMs, commercial airlines, business aviation companies/ operators, global lessors, as well as the Indian defense services.

The induction of a defense veteran and an experienced administrator such as Lt Gen Singh (Retd) will strengthen the Air Works board which currently comprises four members including, its MD & CEO, D Anand Bhaskar and Executive Director, Ravi Menon, the company said in the release.

His appointment comes at a time when the government aims to make India an MRO hub.

"Not just civil aircraft but defence aircraft can also benefit from the MRO if we make India a huge hub ... Maintenance cost for all airlines will come down and that again will have a ripple effect on passengers. Travellers can probably pay less after that," Union finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said last week during the announcement of the fourth tranche of the stimulus package measures to boost the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.