Ras Al Khaimah International Airport plans to seek tenders from contractors to dismantle abandoned aircraft at the airport.
About 20 aircraft have been left parked at the airport for a number of years now. The whereabouts of some of the owners are unknown.
“Currently 80 per cent of those aircraft are about to be dismantled and scrapped,” said Mohammed Qazi, the acting chief executive of RAK International Airport.
“Within the next three to four weeks we are finalising a company that has the tender to do this and they will take care of it. We will take action, whether to scrap them or fly them out. But they can’t just be left there.”
The airports at RAK and Fujairah have both been blighted by abandoned planes.
As many as 30 planes have been left at Fujairah over the years after their owners went bust or the aircraft themselves failed safety standard tests, which prevented them from being flown out.
Mr Qazi said that dismantling and scrapping aircraft is part of the “aircraft life cycle management”, a service that the airport provides.
“Every aircraft that is flying eventually comes to the end of its life.
“In this region, the aircraft reach the end of their lives in 15 to 20 years’ time. There are a number of aircraft that have reached that age, so where do they go?” asked Mr Qazi.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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