Funny, I could have sworn it was because Airbus (a pan-European conglomerate, including the UK) could not continue making spare parts in a way that was financially viable, and that, at the end of the day, was a final and irrevocable factor that meant her time in the air was up.
And yet again, NOPE.
Airbus withdrew product support (hence voiding the Operators Certificate) without a rediculous price hike in support costs. Nothing at all to do with the cost of spare parts, more to do with a way of making it financially impossible for the British to operate the aircraft. (Air France, needing to be privatised, losing money like crazy due to single digit passenger loads, nearly losing another aircraft, AGAIN partly due to poor crew operating discipline, (following an LP pump delivery pipe failure). As AIRBUS had become, and still is now, a French dominated company, the stitch up was put in place!! (By the way, the airlines paid for any spare components that they received from Airbus).
Her time in the air was never 'up', as such, at least not due to any fault of the aeroplane.