Aircraft MRO / Line Maintenance installations at King Khalid International Airport (RUH)

MRO covers the full maintenance hierarchy: line (daily, transit, A-check) at the apron, base maintenance (C-check and D-check) in hangars, engine shop visits, component repair and overhaul, painting and cabin reconfiguration. Providers hold multiple national approvals (EASA, FAA, GCAA, GACA, QCAA) and type ratings for Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and increasingly COMAC. Airlines either run captive MRO (Emirates Engineering, Qatar Airways Technical, Etihad Engineering) or outsource to third parties; the Gulf is pivoting to become a net exporter of MRO capacity.

A sprawling 1980s-era masterplan set in desert pink sandstone, RUH was designed by HOK when Riyadh was still a secondary capital. Four decades later, the city has outgrown it. Terminals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 now share the load as traffic hit 37.2 million in 2024, and new carrier Riyadh Air prepares to launch before the airport itself is eclipsed by King Salman International just across town.