Airplane Parts Reclamation & Storage at the Twente Airport

Twente Airport was opened in 1931 by the mayor of Enschede, Edo Bergsma. KLM started a scheduled flight to Amsterdam in 1932, which was suspended in 1939. During World War II the German Luftwaffe took over the airport and converted it into a military airbase, renaming it Fliegerhorst Twente. In April 1945 allied troops reoccupied the airport and transferred ownership to the Dutch armed forces.

After World War II the airport became a "joint use airport".

The Twente Airport (ENS) Today

Enschede Airport Twente (IATA: ENS, ICAO: EHTW) is located 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) outside of Enschede in Overijssel, Netherlands. It has one runway (05/23), though one of the current taxiways has been used as a runway (taxiway N3, formerly runway 16/34).

Twente Airport connects the eastern Netherlands with the rest of the world, offers business aviation a unique location and provides companies with a unique place of business. At the moment, Twente Airport is a location with limited aviation activities, which means that there are possibilities to perform tests with manned air traffic on the runway. 

It features a 3-kilometre long runway in a unique spatial environment.

The official address of the airport is Vliegveldstraat 100, C94, 7524 PK Enschede, Netherlands. Phone +31 6 21342953

For more information, visit the website of the the Twente Airport

Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS)

Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS) specializes in aircraft disassembly, dismantling and part supplies at its facility at the Twente Airport.

AELS buys end-of-life aircraft, which their highly skilled mechanics carefully disassemble.The removed parts are then placed in inventory,  recertified and returned to the market.

AELS has disassembled and dismantled 75 aircraft., and is active in the circular economy recycling many aircraft parts. The company partners with companies such as KLM, Lufthansa, TNT and Iberia. 

It maintains over 10,000 parts in stock, from airliners such as the Airbus A320, A330 and A340, as well as the Boeing 737, 747 and 757.

The company is certified by AFRA and the Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA).

For more information, phone AELS at +31 0 88 235 7000, or visit the website of Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS)

 

Airliners in storage at the Twente Airport (Photos courtesy of AELS)

 

Airliner Storage at Twente During the COVID-19 Outbreak

As anyone that flies, has ties to the aviation industry, or watches TV knows, the worldwide outbreak of the Corona Virus has had a major negative impact on airlines and their fleets, worldwide.

Thousands of airliners were placed in storage around the world. Today, many have been returned to service.

Lufthansa Technik maintained Boeing 747 aircraft at Twente, to be returned to active service when passenger levels demand. Up to six 747s were to be put in storage at the airport. These aircraft were in temporary storage, not slated for scrapping. The 6th 747, D-ABVS, arrived at Twente for parking on July 24, 2020.

Shown below are two of the Lufthansa Boeing 747s at Twente, photos by and courteous of  Niek van der Zande Photography

D-ABTL lands on Twente Airport’s Runway 23, whilst D-ABVO is already parked (Photo courtesy of Niek van der Zande Photography)

Lufthansa Boeing 747-400 Mülheim a.d. Ruhr parked on the main apron of Twente Airport (Photo courtesy of Niek van der Zande Photography)

 

Aerial View of Airliners at the Twente Airport

Aerial view of airliners in storage at AELS at the Twente Aiport

Interactive Map of the Twente Airport Area

 

 

Map of locations of active and post-WWII airplane boneyards and plane storage facilities