On 23 October 2024, the first day of the MRO Europe exhibition in Barcelona, TARMAC Aerosave signed a contract with the German arranger and asset management company EastMerchant Capital GmbH. Three A380s will be dismantled and recycled at the Tarbes site (France), in order to supply spare parts for the A380s fleet around the world.

The French group TARMAC Aerosave and the German company EastMerchant, an integrated aviation services provider and partner in the widebody lessor Crianza Aviation Ltd., have signed a contract for the recycling of three A380s. The parts removal, dismantling and recycling of these three wide-body aircraft will take place over the coming months at the Tarbes site (France).

With TARMAC Aerosave bringing 29 A380s back into service and then redelivering them between 2023 and 2024, demand for spare parts is growing. This demand has also been identified by EastMerchant, which not only focuses on the early life of an aircraft, but also develops creative end-of-life solutions and strategies for its investors' and airline clients' widebody aircraft. AMS Aircraft Services Ltd. acts as EastMerchant's technical expert for the project. Three A380s stored by TARMAC Aerosave are not intended for return to service, and the owner has decided to sell their parts to the secondary market.

Three specialist A380 partners

Baldur Vander, Managing Director of EastMerchant, comments: “Preparing this project with TARMAC Aerosave and benefiting from their experience on the A380 were comforting elements to move forward and seize the opportunity to buy these aircraft. TARMAC Aerosave’s commitment to a sustainable recycling also played a significant role in our decision.”

EastMerchant partnered with the English USM supplier Skyline Aero Lt. to select most relevant parts to be removed. All sales and distribution will be managed by Skyline from their United Kingdom headquarters.

Bradley Gregory, CEO of Skyline, comments: “Our teams are excited to be working with TARMAC Aerosave on these projects ; their ability to remove parts quickly was a key factor to ensure we fulfil current market demands. This addition of this inventory allows us to strengthen our long-term commitment to A380 operators globally.”

Alexandre Brun, CEO of TARMAC Aerosave, comments: “We are thrilled to continue working on such an iconic aircraft and contribute extending the life of the rest of the flying fleet while recycling what needs to be at the best of our knowledge.”

TARMAC Aerosave returned to service 29 A380 since 2021 and will have recycled a total of 15 with those last three. This expertise is recognised by AFRA (Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association), with the "AFRA Dismantling & Recycling" Diamond level accreditation.

This know-how is recognised by the approvals awarded by AFRA (Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association), for which TARMAC Aerosave is doubly accredited, Dismantling and Recycling, with key performance indicators at the highest level (diamond).