F-16 fighter jet at the hangar of the carrier's tech center in Busan, 453 kilometers south of Seoul. (Korean Air)
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday it has received a 290 billion won ($260 million) F-16 maintenance order in the United States.
In the 10-year deal signed with the US Department of Defense, Korean Air will be in charge of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work for the life extension of the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft deployed to the US air forces in South Korea and Japan, the company said in a statement.
The national flag carrier has been providing the MRO services for US fighter jets, such as the F-15 and F-16, and transport aircraft like the A-10 Thunderbolt and Lockheed C-130 Hercules since 1978, it said.
On top of flight services, the national flag carrier also manufactures aircraft parts and supplies them to Airbus and Boeing.
It began to supply parts to Boeing and Airbus in 1986 and 1987, respectively. (Yonhap)