The Federal Aviation Administration has opened a formal rulemaking process to expand mutual recognition of maintenance organization certificates issued by foreign civil aviation authorities, a move that aviation industry groups say could reduce duplication in compliance costs for international MRO providers seeking to operate across multiple jurisdictions.
Under the proposed framework, MRO shops certified by partner aviation authorities in countries with established bilateral agreements with the United States would gain streamlined pathways to FAA Part 145 approval, eliminating the need for redundant audits and documentation that currently add cost and time to certification. The rulemaking responds to years of requests from airlines and repair stations seeking operational flexibility as global fleet maintenance demand continues to outpace available certified capacity.
The global MRO market hit $84.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to expand at a 5.4 percent compound annual growth rate to reach $134.7 billion by 2034. An aging global fleet now averaging 15.1 years is sustaining demand for aftermarket services even as new aircraft deliveries remain constrained. M&A activity in the sector is also elevated, with high valuations at leading MRO firms including AAR Corp, Heico Corp, and StandardAero attracting buyer interest.
MRO operators expanding their training and procedural documentation capabilities can use aviation maintenance video production to create consistent instruction content that meets both domestic and international regulatory standards.
Source: Aviation Week -- https://aviationweek.com/mro/safety-ops-regulation/faa-broaden-mutual-recognition-mro-approvals