Young A220, A320neo and 737 Max airframes sent for dismantling

Young Airbus and Boeing aircraft are being dismantled instead of kept in service, according to a report on recent teardown activity.

On 2 September it emerged that investment firm Turning Rock Partners and used-parts dealer Aer Fin had bought three Airbus A220s to break them up in the medium term. The engines will be kept and leased out. The fuselages are taken apart and the recovered components sold as used spares. Which three aircraft are involved has not been disclosed.

Earlier cases followed the same pattern. Two A321neos just under six years old were scrapped in Spain in 2025, the same year a four-year-old A320neo belonging to Spirit Airlines was dismantled in Phoenix, along with an unspecified number of Gofirst A320neos. Two further six-year-old A320neos were broken up this year. The aircraft were young enough to keep flying for decades.

Tarmac Aerosave added to the list on 11 September, saying in a press release that more than ten aircraft will be scrapped in the coming months, including A320neos and Boeing 737 Max jets. It is working with Aer Fin, the British used-parts dealer, on the programme: Tarmac carries out the dismantling and Aer Fin sells the parts.

Tarmac Aerosave was founded in 2007 and is owned by Airbus, Safran and the waste-management group Suez. It is based in Tarbes, France, with further sites at Teruel in Spain and Toulouse-Francazal, and offers around 300 parking positions across the three locations.