Parking pain: Airlines, airports hunt for storage space as pandemic idles planes

Record ID: 1465672

  • Title: Parking pain: Airlines, airports hunt for storage space as pandemic idles planes
  • Date: 24th March 2020
  • Summary: TULSA, OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 23, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS AERIALS OF PLANES PARKED AT TULSA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2020 06:11
  • Keywords: aircraft airlines airports coronavirus idle park parking lots runways taxiways
  • Location: TULSA, OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES
  • City: TULSA, OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA001C6EVI9Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:As airlines idle thousands of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic, they are facing an unprecedented problem: finding a place to park them.
    Taxiways, maintenance hangars and even runways at major airports were being transformed into giant parking lots for more than 2,500 airliners.
    The number of planes in storage has doubled to more than 5,000 since the start of the year, according to Cirium data, with more expected to be parked in the coming weeks as carriers like Australia's Qantas Airways and Singapore Airlines proceed with further curbs to flight schedules.
    In the United States, United Airlines and American Airlines said they were parking planes at maintenance facilities for now, while Delta Air Lines said it was still looking into the issue.
    Some airports, such as Melbourne and Brisbane, said they are providing parking for free. Brisbane Airport said that some international airlines had expressed interest in using its facilities, which can house up to 101 planes, but that no deals had yet been reached. Qantas and Virgin Australia will use some of the Brisbane spots.
    Cathay Pacific Airways, one of the first and hardest hit by the coronavirus, has been using remote bays, taxiways and other operational areas at Hong Kong International Airport.
    (Production: Bob Mezan)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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