When the time has come to retire after twenty years spent in the air, airliners must be dismantled, like those here at the side of Tarbes airport, in south-western France. Since 2009, Tarmac Aerosave has specialized in the dismantling of aircraft, and in so doing, has recycled fifty aircraft of all types from a variety of backgrounds.
Philippe Fournadet, CEO of Tarmac Aerosave: interview in the video.
Depending on the size, it takes four to eight weeks to dismantle an aircraft, an operation that takes place in three stages. First of all, is the draining of the kerosene and pollutant fluids. What follows is the removal of the onboard instruments and electronics; the various components being packaged and returned to their owners. Finally comes the third and final stage, that of dismantling the aircraft itself. The different materials are separated; stainless steel to one side, aluminum to the other, allowing 90% of these materials to be recycled.
Philippe Fournadet, CEO of Tarmac Aerosave: interview in the video.
Worldwide, over the next 20 years, the number of aircraft is estimated at 8,000 that will need to be dismantled. In the hope of soon being able to deal with fifty per year, Tarmac Aerosave recently opened a second site, ten times larger than this one, at Teruel in Spain.
