See one of the world’s biggest aircraft ‘graveyards’ where planes go to die — and airlines can dissect them for parts

in April, the Aviation Circularity Consortium, including Australian flag carrier Qantas and other groups, was created as a “joint mission to accelerate supply chain decarbonisation.”

The plan is to use the 8,000 “end-of-life retired aircraft” that are sitting in deserts, jungles, and storage yards across the globe. Another 11,000 are expected to be available over the next 10 years.

According to the consortium, the thousands of decommissioned aircraft offer “a new source of valuable circular materials” and address the “significant waste pollution challenges to the shrinking legal boneyards around the world.”

These “graveyards” started filling up during the pandemic when airlines had to make drastic cost-cutting changes, including furloughing pilots, cutting routes, and indefinitely storing hundreds of planes in the desert.

One of these facilities is Pinal Air Park in Marana, Arizona — a small town located about 90 miles southeast of Phoenix.

As airlines started to shrink in 2020, hundreds of planes from all over the world flew to the 2,080-acre airpark.

With the influx, Pinal had to take special precautions to ensure the aircraft was ready to fly once travel eventually rebounded.

Because of this, Ascent Aviation Services — the largest aircraft service provider on the airfield — had to beef up its staff to maintain the constant arrivals.

Leasing companies were also filling the airfield after buying up inexpensive planes sold during COVID and storing them at Pinal.

Inside a remote Arizona aircraft boneyard storing nearly 300 planes grounded by the pandemic

However, with travel now roaring back and demand on track to surpass 2019 levels, AAS has gotten back to its roots — maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).

Basic offerings include simple maintenance checks and on-demand repairs, like fixing the landing gear or inspecting the flight controls.

However, heavy maintenance is the most costly for airlines. This involves a full assessment of the aircraft and can take up to 60 days for widebody jets, Butler explained.

“A narrowbody will cost around $2 million,” he told BI in May 2023. “With widebodies, you’re easily looking at $3 million.”

The main service it can’t provide is engine overhauls, which are outsourced to other shops.

“A lot of our current projects are just waiting on engines,” Butler told BI. “There’s a backlog because no one did engine maintenance during COVID because of the expenses.”

During an April 2023 tour of the airpark, BI found the main lot full of planes, including two rare Boeing 747SPs.

Butler told BI the stored aircraft also get regular maintenance checks to keep them airworthy.