What happens to old aircraft? At best, they are sold to another airline, at worst they are parked at the back of a hangar, abandoned in a distant desert or even dismantled illegally and the parts that are still operational are recovered and reused.

With some 6,000 to 7,000 aircraft expected to become fit for scrap over the next 20 years, a fully-fledged industrial sector is starting to take shape. The different players on this market, which has a real future and on which competition is already strong, are setting their own procedures and rules for now in the hope of seeing them recognised later at European or even global level. The industry is in the pilot’s seat and, for now, the European Commission is giving it free rein. The EU has adopted strict regulations for the treatment of end-of-life vehicles and a strategy for better ship dismantling...

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