Hong Kong firm, Elior Group sign deal to set up aircraft dismantling centre
But project’s launch depends on availability of a separate plot for recycling fuselages
A French aeronautics services company and a Hong Kong aviation engineering company signed a joint venture deal on Thursday to establish an aircraft dismantling and parts trading facility in the city, with operations targeted to begin within the year.
But the project’s launch will hinge on the availability of a separate plot of land with barge and truck access. This site is required for recycling fuselages once the parts that can be traded have been removed, to avoid a bottleneck in the entire workflow.
Norbert Marx, CEO of China Aircraft Services Limited (CASL), which specialises in aircraft maintenance in Hong Kong, highlighted at the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony that the market for end-of-life aircraft dismantling had significant growth potential.
“We believe the time is now ripe to expand into the highly promising fields of aircraft disassembly, dismantling, harvesting of high-value components, certification and parts trading,” Marx said.
“For each retired aircraft, from turbine engines to fuselage metals, around 90 per cent of materials and components can be recycled and reused for other aircraft.”
Marx added that he hoped the joint venture could establish an ecosystem.