Airbus is to proceed with the construction of an aircraft servicing and recycling center in the city of Chengdu in China. The new facility, due to open by the start of 2024, will provide an extensive range of services to its customers worldwide while re-enforcing the company's commitment to becoming more sustainable through the production and recycling of its products.
Agreement signed
Airbus, along with partners Tarmac Aerosave and the City of Chengdu, have announced the establishment of a new joint venture to establish and construct the first aircraft “lifecycle” services center to be built in China.
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The new facility will offer a complete range of aerospace activities, ranging from aircraft parking and storage, to maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling, and recycling services for various aircraft types.
Photo: Airbus
The announcement follows an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) being signed in January 2022 between the partners to establish the new facility. The entry into service of the new aircraft lifecycle center is scheduled for the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Details of the new facility
The new facility will cover a surface area of 717,000 square meters (7.71 million sq ft) and will boast a storage capacity of 125 aircraft. It will be embedded in a complete ecosystem with an adjacent aviation industry park hosting aerospace manufacturing and services companies in the Shuangliu District, Chengdu.
The new center builds on the already established working relationship between Airbus and China and will strengthen China's aviation industry in aftermarket services.
Photo: Airbus
With the addition of the new aircraft lifecycle center, Airbus’ footprint in China will be expanded to cover the entire industrial chain of aircraft production, from parts manufacturing, aircraft assembly and delivery, fleet operation, and all the way through to end-of-life services, such as dismantling and high-value parts recycling.
Announcing the latest details of the new facility, Cristina Aguilar, Airbus SVP Customer Services, said,
“This new center in Chengdu fits perfectly into Airbus' approach to environmental responsibility across the entire aircraft lifecycle. Aircraft storage, upgrades, and dismantling will all take place under one roof. We are very pleased to be working with our strong and experienced partners Tarmac Aerosave and the City of Chengdu to develop the first lifecycle services center of this kind in China and its range of services."
A close partnership
The new lifecycle center in Chengdu brings together expertise from several key players in the aerospace world and in the end-of-life airframe arena in particular.
Airbus' partner in the project, Tarmac Aerosave, brings more than 15 years of proven expertise in efficient aircraft dismantling to the plan. Similarly, Airbus subsidiary Satair, to be located in the same center, will assume responsibility for acquiring aging aircraft and to trade and distribute any used parts to complete the full scope of lifecycle services.
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Airbus advises that, in total, 75% of the aircraft stored at the center will be 'transitioned' into a second lifecycle. The remaining aircraft will be dismantled through the unique Tarmac Aerosave process, aiming to recover around 90% of the aircraft weight. This ambitious target far exceeds industry standards in the worldwide aircraft recycling field.
This latest announcement that Airbus is forging ahead with the lifecycle center comes hot on the heels of a recent announcement that the planemaker is committed to developing ties with Chinese aerospace partners and the country as a whole.
Earlier this month, during a French state visit to China, Airbus signed new cooperation agreements with several Chinese aviation industry partners.
Witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury signed an agreement to expand the A320 Family final assembly capacity with a second line at its Tianjin site, with the Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Company Ltd. and Aviation Industry Corporation of China Ltd.
Photo: Airbus
The agreement will contribute to Airbus’ overall rate objective of 75 aircraft per month in 2026 throughout its global production network. The Tianjin Final Assembly Line (FAL Asia) started operation in 2008 and has assembled over 600 A320 Family aircraft to date.
In March 2023, the first A321neo aircraft was delivered from the line, marking a new era of enhanced A320 Family production versatility for the benefit of Airbus customers worldwide.
Photo: Airbus
Additionally, in line with its sustainability strategy, Airbus and the China National Aviation Fuel Group (CNAF) also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to intensify Chinese-European cooperation on the production, competitive application and common standards formulation for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
What are your thoughts on this latest development announced by Airbus? How important do you believe such facilities will become in the future? Let us know in the comments.

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.