Airbus notified MRO providers using its technical data that it will start taking a percentage of aftermarket providers’ gross invoices as a royalty fee on top of what the providers pay annually to access the data in the Airbus World platform.

MROs from around the world are alarmed and have called the policy “abusive” and “aggressive.” The royalty fee model applies to all MROs working on Airbus aircraft and using the OEM’s technical data, except those that are owned by an airline and do not perform any third-party work.