Singapore Airlines to scrap three retired jets locally
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Toh Ting Wei
Three Singapore Airlines (SIA) planes were towed on Monday night from Changi Airport to Changi Exhibition Centre, where they will be stripped for parts in a process taking two months.
The towing operation, lasting six hours, required road closures in Changi Coast Road and Aviation Park Road.
SIA said yesterday that two Airbus A380s with registration numbers 9V-SKH and 9V-SKG and a Boeing 777-200 aircraft with registration number 9V-SQJ were moved during the operation.
The airline's engineering arm, SIA Engineering, will dismantle the planes. This marks the first time that SIA is scrapping aircraft locally.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the airline had 19 A380s. It grounded the fleet around March last year as the Covid-19 outbreak rapidly worsened. Twelve of the planes were parked at Changi Airport and seven sent to long-term storage in Alice Springs, Australia.
It then said in November that it would retire a total of 26 planes deemed surplus to requirements, including seven A380s, after a review of its long-term network.
Doubts had grown in the industry over the plane's future in recent years, with some carriers having trouble filling enough seats on the plane to make it profitable.
A spokesman for SIA said yesterday that usable parts from the A380s that are being scrapped will be retained as spare parts to maintain its remaining fleet of 12 A380 planes.
Meanwhile, the remaining parts that are suitable will be repurposed under The Upcycling Project. These include parts of the aircraft fuselage, cabin windows, overhead compartments, aircraft seats, life vests, soft furnishings and linens, and galley equipment such as carts and racks.
SIA had announced The Upcycling Project in August. It said then that under the project, it would provide parts and materials from retired commercial aircraft to Singapore-based organisations and selected global retail brands.
These parts can be upcycled to create unique retail products and art pieces, which directly support educational institutions, artists and people with disabilities, said the airline.
It also said then that it would donate aircraft parts and materials to educational institutions to be used as learning materials for their art or design courses.
