(Yicai) Jan. 25 -- European plane maker Airbus has opened the world's first service center dedicated to the entire lifecycle of an aircraft in Chengdu, an aviation hub in China's southwestern Sichuan province.

The Airbus Lifecycle Services Centre, which opened yesterday, covers “the full range of activities from aircraft parking and storage to maintenance, upgrades, conversions, dismantling and recycling services for various aircraft types, as well as the controlled distribution of used parts from dismantling,” according to Airbus.

The 717,000-square-meter site can accommodate 125 aircraft, Airbus noted, and will gradually ramp up operations between now and 2025 and employ as many as 150 people.

“The center echoes our purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace and shows our approach to environmental responsibility across the entire aircraft lifecycle,” said Cristina Aguilar, senior vice president of customer services at Airbus. “Our service center is a great example of Chinese-European cooperation in the development of the circular economy for the aviation industry.”

A joint venture between Airbus, French aircraft lifecycle services provider Tarmac Aerosave, and the city of Chengdu will run the center along with Airbus subsidiary Satair, it noted. 

Satair will acquire aging aircraft and then trade and distribute used parts to complete the full scope of lifecycle services, Airbus said. Some 75 percent of the aircraft stored in the center will likely fly again after being upgraded by the JV, while the rest will be dismantled using Tarmac Aerosave's process, recovering around 90 percent of their weight, the company added.

China's air passenger traffic will grow at an average annual rate of 5.2 percent over the next two decades, nearly double the global average, according to Airbus' latest forecast. The country's demand for new aircraft will exceed 9,000 units, accounting for 23 percent of the total globally, while becoming the world's largest market for air services at USD54.1 billion by 2042.

Chengdu handled 538,000 flights last year, according to data from Sichuan Province Airport Group. It had 74.9 million passengers and 771,000 tons of cargo and mail throughput, ranking third and sixth among Chinese cities.

Editor: Martin Kadiev