Tarmac Aerosave—a subsidiary of Airbus Group, Safran Aircraft Engines, and SUEZ—has taken a step forward in aircraft recycling, this time presenting technology that makes the entire process mobile.

Having dismantled and recycled 150 aircraft and 130 engines over the past 12 years, Tarmac Aerosave has become a world leader in aircraft recycling thanks to its use of a cutting gantry and vast storage areas spread over three European sites. The gantry is used to cut the wings and fuselage in a controlled way with a diamond wire after decontamination operations (removal/sorting of equipment/cabin materials) have been completed. The entire system requires no heat and is environmentally friendly.

Due to growing demand caused by fleet renewal, Tarmac Aerosave continues to develop new systems, like a cutting tunnel for civil and military narrowbody aircraft. After disassembling the wings, the fuselage is cut into sections and recycled the same way as the sections produced by the cutting gantry.

To meet increasing requests for aircraft recycling anywhere in the world, Tarmac Aerosave has designed mobile and autonomous systems that can cut up a single-aisle aircraft fuselage in just a few hours. “Aircraft don’t just come to Tarmac Aerosave, Tarmac now goes to the aircraft," said chairman Patrick Lecer. “This system gives us even more flexibility in terms of improving our cutting processes."