Sanad’s Al Ain GTF Centre to Require Over 1,000 Technicians, CFO Says

Abu Dhabi aerospace company Sanad expects its new GTF engine maintenance centre in Al Ain to require more than 1,000 technicians once fully operational, according to Kashish Kohli, Group Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of the Asset Management Division at Sanad, in an exclusive interview with Gulf News. The hiring initiative comes amid a worldwide shortage of skilled aviation personnel and forms part of Sanad's broader expansion in engine maintenance, repair, overhaul, testing, and asset management.

Sanad's workforce expanded by 44 percent year on year in the first half of 2026 to reach 898 employees. Emiratisation reached 36.9 percent, while UAE nationals accounted for 51.6 percent of senior leadership roles. Kohli stated that Sanad will focus primarily on developing homegrown talent through partnerships with UAE universities, on-the-job training, and trainee programmes, supported by selective overseas recruitment.

Sanad is developing two facilities in Al Ain. One is dedicated to GTF engines and scheduled to begin inductions in 2028, alongside a Dh480 million repair centre. The company currently services major platforms including the Trent 700, V2500, GEnx, and LEAP, and expects its existing network to reach an annual capacity of 275 to 300 engine shop visits before the GTF facility opens.

To counter international supply chain delays and turnaround constraints at external repair shops, Sanad is pursuing vertical integration. Over the past two years, the company has invested more than Dh800 million in UAE aerospace infrastructure. In the first half of 2026, Sanad inducted 120 engines—up 33.3 percent year on year—while deliveries rose 53.8 percent. Revenue reached AED 4.31 billion, a 35 percent year-on-year increase, supported by eight new commercial agreements worth AED 95.5 million.

Kohli noted that the expansion is responding to sustained commercial aviation demand, citing Oliver Wyman projections that the global commercial fleet will grow from roughly 30,000 aircraft today to nearly 41,000 by 2035–2036, with Middle East fleets growing at 5 percent annually. Boeing also projects the regional fleet to more than double by 2044. Kohli stressed that demand is not the company's bottleneck, but rather capacity and capability.