Editorial | Plane recycling opens new horizons for Hong Kong aviation
A new training centre is set to provide technicians with a new range of skills and bring an industrial chain to Hong Kong
The opening of the facility this month was hailed by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu as “a major step” towards the city becoming a leader in aircraft recycling and parts trading in the region. He said the city has what it needs to “build a flourishing regional service supply chain” that will create “high-value jobs” that require greater skills and provide better pay.
The centre is currently based in the China Aircraft Services hangar at Hong Kong International Airport. Elior Group is working to secure space for aircraft dismantling, parts storage, processing and recycling operations by the third quarter of next year.
The facility will be able to extract millions of dollars’ worth of value from components such as engines and landing gear before it recycles metal and other scrap.
Elior Asia CEO Janet Cheung said the city should explore tax breaks and international agreements for aircraft leasing – a major source of aircraft for carriers. She also said the company’s base in France assembles aircraft, while its German and Spanish arms focus on recycling, noting that Hong Kong could potentially handle an industrial chain covering a plane’s entire life cycle.