Welcome to the first issue of MRO Management in 2022. We’ve all become accustomed to uncertainty, change and unwelcome surprises in
the past few years but, with many MRO companies now reporting busy hangars, the industry is facing the immediate future with renewed hope and optimism.

In this issue, our focus is on discerning trends for the year ahead, and beyond. We asked Alton Aviation Consultancy’s managing director Jonathan Berger for his predictions for 2022 in our regular ‘Industry voices’ column. His thoughts turned to the shortage of skilled labour, air cargo market growth and supply chain near-shoring in what is a compelling read. In the same column, Aviation Logistics Network’s co-founder Ralph Perkins provides a thoughtful analysis on how – with careful investment and a targeted use of technology – companies such as his might be able to help MROs reduce their logistics costs without a decrease in service.

In our cover story, the MRO market in the Middle East is in the spotlight, along with the companies that are headquartered there. Fraser Currie, CEO of Jordanian MRO Joramco, believes the region is leading the MRO and wider aviation recovery. There is certainly a lot of room for growth, and with Boeing forecasting a need for US$740 billion of aftermarket services by 2040, the future for the MRO industry in the Middle East is bright.

The future also appears promising for technologies that enable the remote inspection of aircraft components and structures. Remote live-video-based solutions became essential for many businesses during the Covid-19 crisis, while technologies such as nanobots, robotic arms and drones are gaining momentum, and we explore these developments in detail in an article on page 44.

Finally, digitalisation will remain an ongoing movement in 2022, and on page 38 we assess the state of the MRO industry’s transition from paper to digital records – pondering whether going fully digital will be a viable possibility any time soon.

I hope you enjoy reading the issue. Let’s also hope there are only surprises of the good kind for our industry for the rest of the year!