Where Do Airplanes Go When They Can’t Fly Anymore?

Nothing lasts forever, and that's certainly true of airplanes. Most contemporary aircraft have a lifespan of at least 30 years, but when their time is up, where do they go?

Retired planes are sent to aircraft boneyards, also called aircraft graveyards. Consider them giant, open-air parking garages for airplanes as they await their future. "After a plane arrives at a boneyard, one of two things will happen: It will remain in storage and fully maintained, or it will be scrapped for parts," former pilot Daniel Bubb, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, tells Travel + Leisure. 

The former situation happens when airlines decommission planes that are still airworthy, but no longer shiny and new. "As aircraft technology keeps evolving, airlines will put some planes out of service, which means older planes are destined for the boneyard," says Bubb. "Other airlines might acquire those older planes because they are cheaper than buying new."

But if the plane is too far past its prime, it's typically harvested for parts. "After a decommissioned airliner arrives at an aircraft boneyard for scrapping, it is first drained of all liquids, like remaining fuel, hydraulic fluid, and lubricants. Then, all useful parts, from instruments to engines, are removed for resale," says aviation historian Shea Oakley. "Once these two processes have been completed, the aircraft is ready to be scrapped. What remains after an aircraft is taken apart, especially metals and plastics, are almost always recycled in some way. At the end of the process, virtually none of the airplane remains."

Aircraft boneyards can be found all over the world — most frequently, if you'll excuse the pun, in bone-dry destinations. "If scrapping is delayed for a long period, or if the airliner in question is being mothballed for possible future use, the extremely dry air in a desert environment acts as a natural preserving agent, especially for metals, which would otherwise corrode," says Oakley. "A properly 'sealed' airplane kept in desert storage needs minimal maintenance to make it airworthy once again, and if the airliner is finally scrapped, there will be little or no damage to its parts from the elements."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the largest aircraft boneyards are in the desert. "There is less rain, snow, and other inclement weather conditions that can cause planes to rust," says Bubb. Take, for instance, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. It's home to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), which runs the world's largest aircraft boneyard, capable of holding more than 4,000 planes — more specifically, military aircraft from fighter jets to bombers — on 16.5 square miles of land. While you can't visit this boneyard, you can still see many of its planes from the periphery, outside the fence.

For retired commercial airliners, you'll want to head to the second- and third-largest boneyards in the world, found at the Mojave Air and Space Port (MHV) and Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) in California. Like Davis-Monthan, these boneyards aren't accessible to the public. Beyond peering through chain-link fences, you can always take a peek on Google Earth.