Bournemouth, Motoring & Transport | Posted on August 25th, 2026 | return to news

European Cargo’s fleet of Bournemouth-based Airbus planes acquired by European Aviation Group

Paul Stoddart’s European Aviation has announced that it has acquired the assets of European Cargo Ltd, including the impressive fleet of Airbus A340 aircraft, notably the 7 freighter aircraft currently parked around the edge of Bournemouth airport.

The deal includes a total of 16 aircraft which are flight-ready, plus a large quantity of Rolls-Royce Trent 553 and 556 spare engines.

Paul Stoddart, Chairman and CEO said: “We are delighted to have concluded our acquisition of all the assets of ECL with the joint administrators. Whilst this is a massive investment from EAL, I feel totally confident that we can keep this excellent fleet of cargo aircraft flying for the foreseeable future.”

Hopefully, they will continue to operate out of Bournemouth where European Aviation still maintains operations.