Aerospace Is Spending $1 Billion To Fix The Engine Shop-Visit Crunch Airlines Can't Escape

GE Aerospace says it plans to spend more than $1 billion over five years to expand and update its global engine repair centers, driven by surging airline demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). The company’s focus is not only on adding repair-bay capacity, but on the workflow bottleneck of how long each engine takes to fix. GE and partner Safran face a surge of maturing CFM LEAP engines reaching service milestones faster than parts suppliers and trained workers can absorb. GE Aerospace first announced the initiative in July 2024, projecting a wave affecting LEAP-powered aircraft and a large backlog of engines. By early 2026, the fleet was nearing 4,000 aircraft, logging over 60 million flight hours with about 150 airlines, increasing future overhaul demand throughout the decade. GE is also expanding investment close to where planes are flying, including in Singapore.