Customers ‘queuing up’ at KLM aircraft recycling centre

United Kingdom – Major airline KLM has unveiled a new facility for dismantling and recycling aircraft at its engineering subsidiary in Norwich in the east of England.

Claimed to be ‘one of a handful of aircraft recycling centres in Europe’, it offers a cradle-to-cradle service for a whole range of planes including Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s, Fokker50/70/100s and BAe 146/Avro RJs.

Aircraft components can be recovered, reconditioned and stored for reuse or for sale. In addition, fuel, lubricants and other potential pollutants can be drained potentially for recycling.

A dozen aircraft will be handled in the centre’s first year, with the figure doubling to 24 by the second year. ‘We have customers queuing up and we already have four aircraft on site for disposal,’ confirms KLM UK sales director Dave Spalding. ‘Globally, the aviation industry has 12 000 aircraft which will need to be scrapped in the next 20 years so we see huge potential for our new dismantling and recycling facility.’

Ten engineering jobs will be created at the centre.

For more information, visit: www.klmukengineering.com