Kenya Airways Completes First In-House Boeing 787 Landing Gear Replacement

By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter

Kenya, 11 August 2026 - Kenya Airways has expanded its aircraft maintenance capabilities after successfully completing its first in-house landing gear replacement on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, marking another step in its ambition to position its engineering division as a major Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) provider in Africa.

The operation was completed at Kenya Airways' MRO facility at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, following six years of planning, staff training and technical preparation.

The complex exercise involved raising the aircraft using specialised jacking equipment, removing the existing landing gear, installing the replacement, integrating associated systems and conducting tests before certification.

Kenya Airways said the operation brought together its engineering teams across several stages of the maintenance process, including aircraft jacking, landing gear replacement, systems integration, testing and certification.

KQ Director of Technical Gilbert Bett said preparation for the operation began six years ago, with the airline reviewing technical requirements, sourcing materials and training engineers ahead of the work.

The technical teams also had to handle components linked to the landing gear, including harnesses, connectors, hydraulic tubes and brakes.

According to KQ Head of Technical Materials Benson Ndirangu, the landing gear equipment involved weighs about six tonnes, making precision and coordination critical during the replacement.

The achievement comes about a year after Kenya Airways engineers completed a full 12-year 6C heavy maintenance check internally, further demonstrating the airline's efforts to increase the amount of specialised maintenance work it can undertake locally.

Kenya Airways currently operates nine Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners, making the development particularly relevant to the airline's own fleet maintenance requirements.

Beyond maintaining its own aircraft, Kenya Airways is increasingly positioning MRO as a potential source of additional revenue.

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The airline has identified engineering and maintenance services as part of its strategy to diversify income beyond passenger and cargo operations, with the longer-term ambition of becoming an MRO provider of choice in Africa and beyond.

That ambition could place Nairobi in a stronger position within Africa's growing aircraft maintenance market.

Airlines typically rely on specialised facilities and certified engineering teams for major maintenance work, and developing such capabilities locally can reduce the need to send aircraft to facilities outside the region.

Kenya Airways' latest achievement therefore represents more than an internal engineering milestone. It demonstrates the airline's growing ability to undertake complex wide-body aircraft maintenance locally while building technical expertise that could eventually serve other carriers.

For an airline working to strengthen its financial position, expanding MRO services could provide an additional revenue stream while reducing some of the costs and logistical challenges associated with outsourcing specialised maintenance work.

The successful Boeing 787 landing gear replacement is consequently another step in KQ's broader effort to turn its engineering capabilities into a regional aviation services business, rather than keeping them solely focused on maintaining its own fleet.