Airbus: Emirates’ first retired A380 to be ‘repurposed’ and you could buy the onboard bar
The onboard bar and other cabin features from a 14-year-old retired Airbus A380 – which is being scrapped – will be transformed into bespoke furniture and sold to anyone who fancies buying a piece of the iconic superjumbo.
Emirates has signed a contract with UAE-based Falcon Aircraft Recycling on an initiative, where its first retired A380 aircraft will be upcycled and recycled, “dramatically reducing the environmental impact of the deconstruction process and drastically reducing landfill waste.”
After completing its last commercial mission, A6-EDA, the first A380 ever delivered to Emirates, was retired from service last year and taken to the airline’s Engineering Centre where Emirates engineers retrieved serviceable components such as engines, landing gears and flight control components.
The aircraft was then deregistered and handed over to the Falcon Aircraft Recycling team to begin the process of carefully breaking down the aircraft.
Partnering with Wings Craft, another UAE-based firm that specialises in producing custom furniture and merchandise from aircraft materials, Falcon Aircraft Recycling will design and manufacture unique collectables and retail items from the materials and parts removed from the aircraft.
These items will be launched for sale in phases over the coming months.
A portion of profits from the sale of all items upcycled and recycled from Emirates’ first retired A380 will benefit the Emirates Airline Foundation.
Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates airline said: “We are delighted to partner with Falcon Aircraft Recycling on this first-of-its-kind project.”
“That all repurposing activity will be fully executed in the UAE also speaks to the strong aviation eco-system and capabilities that the nation has built up in its short history.”
“Through this initiative, our customers and fans can take home a piece of aviation history while saving valuable materials from landfill and contributing to a charitable cause through the Emirates Airline Foundation. It’s an elegant and fitting retirement solution for this iconic aircraft and our flagship.”
Andrew Tonks, Director of Falcon Aircraft Recycling said: “This is our most ambitious project to date which will see the first deconstruction of an A380 outside of Europe.”
“Approximately 190 tonnes of various metals, plastics, carbon fiber composites and other materials will be removed from the aircraft and passed on for recycling or repurposing via our upcycling programme with Wings Craft.”
“Our teams are currently busy with the breakdown and final concepts for the first batch of unique upcycled items. We look forward to unveiling more information on the retail items soon.”
The end of A380 production:
It was February 2018 when Airbus announced it planned to put an end to the A380 programme.
Emirates owns half of all operating A380s -the superjumbo’s future had been tied to the ongoing desire of the UAE based airline to continue adding A380’s to its fleet.
Emirates reduced an existing order by 39 aircraft triggering Airbus the pull the plug on the A380 programme.
The final A380 wing left the Airbus factory in Broughton in February 2020.
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