Japan Airlines (JAL) began construction of a new plant for landing gear maintenance and related work in the maintenance area of Tokyo Haneda Airport on May 19.
At the new plant, JAL will consolidate landing gear maintenance functions that are currently dispersed, and introduce numerous automated labor-saving systems and state-of-the-art equipment, including several that are being deployed in Japan for the first time. The plant is scheduled for completion at the end of December 2027, and once finished, it is expected to serve as a next-generation core maintenance hub capable of meeting global aviation demand.
Landing gear is the equipment that supports the aircraft during takeoff, landing, and taxiing. At the new gear plant, JAL will perform overhaul maintenance, which involves removing the landing gear from the aircraft approximately every 10 years. Maintenance will combine advanced expertise and dedicated facilities, including plating technologies and next-generation thermal spray technologies as alternatives, specialized metal processing, painting, and non-destructive inspection.
Landing gear maintenance will continue to be carried out primarily by JAL Engineering, the JAL Group company responsible for aircraft maintenance.
