AMSTERDAM—Repair, reuse and aircraft life extension give maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers opportunities to reduce waste and recover value, while better data and digital tools could help scale circular practices across the aftermarket.
Sustainability in the MRO sector is increasingly driven by the prospect of operational and commercial gains, rather than regulation alone.
That was a clear message from a panel discussion at MRO Europe 2026, where participants highlighted how component repair, material reuse and extending aircraft life can help operators and maintenance providers extract more value from existing assets.
An audience poll during the session found that the overwhelming majority of respondents viewed economics, rather than regulation, as the main driver of sustainability initiatives.
Magnetic Group Commercial Director Laura Roke argued that environmental improvements should be built into more efficient operations, rather than treated as an additional cost. “Sustainability shouldn’t be an extra cost. It should be about efficiency,” she said.
Thales offered examples of how relatively small changes to maintenance and material processes can deliver both financial and environmental benefits.
Benedicte Bodin, head of sustainability for aviation global services, described how Thales repaired an inflight entertainment touchscreen system directly on board instead of replacing the unit. In another case, Thales introduced a process to sanitize and reuse three memory discs that would previously have been replaced as a complete set of four.
The examples illustrate the potential to reduce unnecessary replacement and disposal, although scaling such practices depends on having the technical capability and documentation to support deeper repairs.
Setnix UK Vice President Callum Dray pointed to limitations in the technical information available for avionics components.
While equipment is often divided into line-replaceable units and shop-replaceable units, maintenance manuals and parts documentation do not always provide enough technical information to support repairs at that deeper component level. Better component-level information could open up further repair opportunities and help specialists recover value from equipment that might otherwise be replaced.
Used serviceable material (USM) is another part of this circular approach. Gerard Brown, director of engines and trading at StandardAero, said the company was seeking to incorporate as much USM as possible into its work on CFM International engine platforms.
He also highlighted the role of maintenance in extending the operating life of mature aircraft, through work such as module swaps and performance restorations. “If we can play a part in extending the ownership life, in extending the operating life of an aircraft, it’s not pushing airlines to go new,” Brown noted.
However, making circular practices more widespread requires better information and traceability across the aftermarket.
Roke said parts need to be tracked throughout their life cycle, from origin and repair through to reuse or eventual scrapping. Digital material passports could help, but the industry still faces the challenge of transferring information held in paper records into accessible systems.
Bodin also highlighted the difficulty of identifying opportunities to share resources and recover materials when companies operate incompatible enterprise resource planning systems.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could help address some of these information gaps. Dray described how AI can capture large volumes of test data during avionics repairs and identify relationships between components and faults, potentially helping engineers recognize patterns that might otherwise be missed.
However, the panel cautioned against treating AI as a substitute for approved technical information. Brown stressed the financial importance of complete maintenance records, noting that a missing document can undermine an asset’s value.
The opportunity, therefore, lies in using digital tools to improve access to reliable data and support repair decisions.
Related Content
