An aircraft graveyard or aircraft boneyard is a storage area for aircraft which are retired from service. Most aircraft at boneyards are either kept for storage continuing to receive some maintenance or parts of the aircraft are removed for reuse or resale and the aircraft are scrapped. Boneyard facilities are generally located in deserts, such as those in the southwestern United States, since the dry conditions reduce corrosion and the hard ground does not need to be paved. In some cases, aircraft which were planned to be scrapped or were stored indefinitely without plans of ever returning to service were brought back into service, as the aviation market or the demands of military aviation changed or failed to develop as was anticipated.
Some yards are privately owned and operated, others belong to the military, including the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
After aircraft are put into boneyards, many are stripped of useful parts. Engines, as well as most electronics, munitions, and wiring to be removed, are recycled or kept in warehouses. The parts may serve as replacement parts for aircraft which are still flying or they may be used for reconditioning if and when the aircraft are called back into active duty. The parts along with the stripped aircraft may be sold to other countries.
Depending on the demands of the military or for commercial purposes, an aircraft or a whole squadron of the aircraft may be put back into active duty. The aircraft have to be reconditioned and tested so they will be airworthy. The reconditioning process includes putting in new avionics, electronics, safety measures, testing, and painting. Reconditioning of old aircraft is generally a cheaper way of getting more aircraft into service than buying new ones.
Military aircraft The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, the largest facility of its kind, is colloquially known as "The Boneyard". Other nations' central aircraft storage facilities include the Russian Air Forces' Bases for Reserve Helicopters.
Commercial aircraft Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial air transport, demand for commercial aircraft storage increased dramatically in 2020. Furthermore, many aircraft which had initially been planned for short-term storage were ultimately stored long term or even scrapped altogether, requiring maintenance work to prepare the planes for the different plans. As demand recovery behaved differently from expectations, temporary shortages as well as the requirement to prepare planes for long-term storage after a few months of short-term storage caused issues. Planes that have been stored for a few months can not be brought back to service on short notice. The longer planes are stored, the more time it takes to get them fully airworthy and ready to fly again. Bringing a narrowbody aircraft back from long-term storage takes roughly 40 worker hours while widebody aircraft require roughly 100 worker hours.
Notable aircraft boneyards Location Country Notes Alice Springs, Northern Territory Australia First large-scale aircraft boneyard outside the United States. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada Contains 23 old Fokker F-28 Fellowships of Canadian Regional Airlines and Air Canada Jazz. Planes stored off service roads north of 09/27. Mountainview, Ontario Canada Used primarily for storage of older RCAF Aircraft. Manas International, Chüy Region Kyrgyzstan Soviet era aircraft began to appear after 1991. Enschede Airport Twente Netherlands Teruel, Aragon SpainCiudad Real International Airport, Ciudad RealSpainUsed as a long-term aircraft storage site.Lleida–Alguaire Airport, LleidaSpainTarbes, Hautes-PyrénéesFranceMajor European hub for aircraft storage and recycling operated by , world-renowned for storing and dismantling a significant portion of the global Airbus A380 fleet. Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport, Déols France Long-term aircraft storage for mostly Airbus aircraft.St. Athan, WalesUnited KingdomSt. Athan Airfield, located near Barry in South Wales, is a major facility for the dismantling and recycling of retired commercial aircraft, operated by eCube Solutions. Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield), Gloucestershire United Kingdom Air Salvage International, the leading European aircraft decommissioning company. RAF Shawbury, Shropshire United Kingdom From end of World War II to 1972. Querétaro Intercontinental Airport, Querétaro Mexico Storage site for MD-80 series aircraft and more.Toluca International Airport, TolucaMexicoDozens of retired Interjet Yakovlev SJ-100s stored here. Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona United States Nearly 4,400 aircraft on 2,600-acre, 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. Tucson International Airport, Arizona United States Storage for Bombardier CRJ series aircraft. Coolidge Municipal Airport, Arizona United States Kingman Field, Arizona United States Storage and repair for Delta, American and United. Pinal Airpark, Arizona United States Miami–Opa Locka Executive Airport, Florida United States Blytheville, Arkansas United States Storage and scrapping for retired aircraft including the MD-80 series aircraft. San Bernardino, California United States Short-term aircraft storage and scrapping operations mainly for Delta Air Lines. Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, Alabama United States Major aircraft storage site during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Mojave Air and Space, California United States More than 100 planes. California City Municipal Airport, California United States Many retired private jets stored here. Victorville, California United States Oscoda-Wurtsmith, Michigan United States Storage for Kalitta Air and other airlines. Greenwood-Leflore Airport, Mississippi United States Storage, modification and scrapping for retired aircraft. Tupelo, Mississippi United States Storage, modification and scrapping for retired aircraft. Roswell, New Mexico United States Several large passenger and cargo jets. Laurinburg-Maxton, North Carolina United States Charlotte Aircraft Corporation strips former Northwest Airlines aircraft. Madras Municipal Airport, Oregon United States Former Delta Air Lines MD-88s stored here as well as retired Douglas DC-7 Aerial firefighting aircraft.Bob Sikes Airport, FloridaUnited States Short-term storage operations. Jenkins Airport, Delaware United States Tons of abandoned General Aviation aircraft. Griffiss International Airport (Former), New York United States Retired Boeing 747 aircraft stored here. Abilene Regional (Former), Texas United States Many retired Saab 340s mostly from Envoy Air-American Eagle.
See also Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association Aircraft recycling PAMELA Project Ship graveyard Spacecraft cemetery Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport and Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport are also airports with aircraft boneyards
References
External links
Map of aircraft boneyards around the world.