EirTrade Aviation has achieved AFRA Diamond accreditation for its airframe and engine disassembly facility at Ireland West Airport Knock. The certification recognises the highest standard of data quality and asset management practices, and comes as the company expands its disassembly and line maintenance operations at the site amid rising demand for teardown and end-of-lease redelivery services.

EirTrade Aviation is headquartered in Dublin, with operations at Ireland West Airport Knock, and specialises in aircraft and engine disassembly, parts trading and end-of-life asset management for airlines, lessors and MROs. The company operates Ireland's only aircraft disassembly facility.

The Diamond accreditation, awarded by the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association, recognises the facility's application of best management practices, with particular emphasis on the quality and consistency of data collected throughout the disassembly process. At the Diamond standard, data is gathered for every individual asset, whether a single engine or a fleet of 20 aircraft.

EirTrade is investing in recruitment and training to support growing activity at Knock, where its aircraft disassembly capability operates alongside Part-145 line maintenance services. The site's existing infrastructure includes a 2,511 metre runway, with a planned infrastructure investment programme exceeding 35 million euros between 2026 and 2028 supporting further development.

"At the Diamond standard, data is gathered for each asset, so it doesn't matter if it is one engine or 20 aircraft, the level of detail and monitoring is the same. It's a team effort," said Steven Trowell, senior vice president of maintenance and disassembly at EirTrade Aviation.

"As the only teardown operation in Ireland we have a huge responsibility to reassure our customers, in the airline, lessor and used serviceable material community, that we meet the highest standards in Europe. We're running this established capability alongside our Part-145 line maintenance services, so Knock is fast becoming an aviation hub of interest to technicians and maintenance engineers," Trowell said.

"The combination of aircraft disassembly, line maintenance, storage and lease-transition services that EirTrade offer deliver opportunities for operational efficiencies and diversified revenue. We believe that our expansion will attract further aviation investment, create highly skilled employment and support the development of a specialist aerospace cluster in the west of Ireland," Trowell added.

For the sector, the accreditation reinforces Ireland's role in aircraft end-of-life services as demand for teardown, recycling and asset recovery continues to grow across Europe.

Source: Aviation Business News / Eir Trade Aviation