British Airways is to acquire the Boeing hangar facility and MRO business at Gatwick. The airline said the move will secure jobs at the site and expands its presence at the “key airport”.
As part of the transaction, BA will create a new wholly owned engineering subsidiary called British Airways Engineering Gatwick (BAEG), which will join BA's existing engineering operations in South Wales and Glasgow. The Boeing workers at the facility will be transferred to the new subsidiary in the second quarter of this year.
The acquisition is part of the airline's strategy to expand its engineering operation. The company said that it will recruit additional staff and grow the facility in the longer term.
British Airways chief technical officer Andy Best said the acquisition will, “help us be the very best in the business by bringing in the skills and expertise of former Boeing colleagues and adding a large, modern hangar” to its portfolio of engineering facilities. “It will support the reliability of our entire fleet, which is good news for our customers and colleagues,” he added.
The company will continue to carry out minor maintenance on 777 aircraft at the airport. The increased capacity will allow the company to in-source some scheduled heavy maintenance work on its A320/A321 fleet. Additionally, it will enhance its capacity to carry out unscheduled repair work, as well as freeing up some maintenance capacity at its other locations in its network.
The company said the acquisition will reduce the need to ferry out its 777 and A320/A321 aircraft to other operational bases.
British Airways also received its first new aircraft of the year, the company said on February 17, 2025, with the arrival of its A320neo at Heathrow airport.