Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) is one of the largest air cargo companies that owns Atlas Air, Polar Air Cargo and a joint venture Titan Aircraft Investments. Atlas Air and South Korean aircraft maintenance company Sharp Technics K signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a dedicated maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Incheon International Airport in August 2021.
Incheon International Airport said in a statement that the airport authority signed a formal agreement with AAWW and Sharp Technics K to establish an MRO facility in Incheon. The facility will be operable in 2026, Incheon International Airport said.
Through the agreement, AAWW and Sharp Technics K will set up a joint venture called Atlas Air Technical Service (AATS) which will become the operator of the MRO. The first MRO facility will be capable of simultaneously repairing four large-sized aircraft at a time. The joint venture would build a second repair facility by 2030 if there are enough demands for maintenance and repair.
The MRO facility will be used for the maintenance of aircraft owned by AAWW and its subsidiaries, leased airplanes, and other planes that AAWW is in charge of maintenance and repair.
"Following the South Korea-U.S. semiconductor alliance, we were able to give fruit to another strategic economic cooperation model -- South Korea-U.S. MRO alliance -- that would contribute to the growth of the two countries' economies and air cargo industries," Incheon International Airport CEO Kim Kyung-wook said in a statement on December 15.