Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is dismantling two of its A380s that previously belonged to the Lufthansa fleet. The affected aircraft, with the registration numbers D-AIME and D-AIMF, were in service with the German airline from 2011 to 2020. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Lufthansa temporarily grounded its entire A380 fleet and later returned only eight of the 14 aircraft to service. The remaining six, including those now scheduled for dismantling, were sold to Airbus.
Airbus will now use the two wide-body aircraft as a source of spare parts. As announced, VAS Aero Services will be responsible for dismantling the two former Lufthansa aircraft, as well as another retired Malaysia Airlines A380 (registration 9M-MNC), which also comes from Airbus's fleet. The dismantling is intended to enable the recovery of reusable components that can be used for the maintenance and repair of other A380s still in service.
VAS Aero Services already has experience in dismantling the Airbus A380 and claims to have already dismantled ten of these wide-body aircraft. Given the unexpectedly strong revival of A380 operations at some airlines and ongoing delivery delays for new long-haul aircraft, used spare parts are becoming increasingly important for maintaining the flight operations of older aircraft. The dismantled aircraft will thus help extend the service life of other A380s.
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