Former Lufthansa and Malaysia Airlines A380s
to be scrapped
Three A380-800s formerly operated by Lufthansa and Malaysia Airlines will be scrapped for parts by VAS Aero Services. The company announced it will dismantle D-AIME (msn 61), D-AIMF (msn 66), and EI-HKC (ex 9M-MNC, msn 84), all currently owned by Airbus Financial Services.
The harvested components are set to be sold in the secondary parts market, while the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines will be available for lease.
The company claims it still sees strong demand for A380 parts. "With deliveries of Boeing’s 777X platform delayed until at least 2026, there is an increasing reliance on the A380 to fill the need for large, long-haul aircraft," said Tommy Hughes, the chief executive officer of VAS Aero Services.
The teardown of the three aircraft will be conducted in collaboration with Tarmac Aerosave.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, D-AIME, D-AIMF, and EI-HKC have been stored since 2020. The ex-Lufthansa A380-800s were produced in 2010 and are currently stored at Teruel. The aircraft previously used by Malaysia Airlines rolled out in 2012 and is parked at Lourdes/Tarbes.
Airbus produced 254 A380-800s, but only 182 remain in service. The biggest operator of the quadjet is Emirates, which currently operates 118 of the aircraft.
In total, Lufthansa operated fourteen A380-800s but only eight are active at the moment. Malaysia Airlines fully retired its A380 fleet, which consisted of six aircraft, by 2022.
