10 Of The Largest Airplane Boneyards In The World

If you are unfamiliar with the term airplane boneyards, let us simplify it for you. An airplane boneyard is a graveyard for aircraft. It is a huge area of land where planes that are retired or out of service are stored for the final dismantling and recycling process. Boneyards are not only a place of obsolescence for retired aircraft but also for the ones that require temporary storage until they are needed in the fleet once again or are waiting for other buyers.

However, when talking about aircraft boneyards, you cannot just pick any piece of land and transform it into an aircraft storage facility. It needs to have certain weather and terrain conditions to be eligible to accept the defunct aircraft. So what are the most ideal conditions for an airplane boneyard? 

Deserts make perfect storage areas for retired and damaged aircraft because of their dry weather, which preserves the aircraft. High humidity levels in the air can lead to corrosion and rusting on a plane's metal parts. Therefore, the low-humidity environment in deserts favors long-term storage. Apart from this, there is ample land to store hundreds of aircraft, and the hard and firm terrain can hold the weight of these air vehicles without sinking.

While the U.S. has several prominent airport boneyards where planes go to die, there are also notable facilities outside the U.S. where planes can finally rest. Here is a list of the largest airport boneyards in the world, ranked according to their total aircraft storage capacity.

Known to be the largest airplane boneyard in the Netherlands, Twente Airport goes back to 1931, when the site was established. It functioned as both a military and civilian airport until 2007, when it converted to pure civilian use. The long runway can accommodate humongous aircraft, such as the A330 or the A340 passenger jets, and gave a place to six retiring Lufthansa Boeing 747s in 2020. The boneyard offers 20 aircraft stands, making it a popular cemetery that attracts international airlines aiming to scrap their excess fleets.

Even decades later, Twente Airport has progressed to become a testing site for sustainable aviation practices in addition to being an active airplane boneyard. The Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS) facility at Twente Boneyard makes a huge difference in its fame. The company buys and takes apart end-of-life airplanes to make the most out of their parts and return them to the marketplace after carefully evaluating and certifying each part.

A private airport boneyard? That is exactly what Cotswold Airport is. England's largest privately owned airport that has a dedicated area for storing and recycling aircraft that are tired after a lifetime of service. The airport extends to nearly 532 acres, enabling space for around 50 narrow-bodied and 20 wide-bodied aircraft, both commercial and private. One of the core reasons why this airplane boneyard is a famous spot for these retired flying machines is due to the base of Air Salvage International (AIS) within the boneyard premises.

AIS offers expert services in dismantling and recycling old aircraft so that the parts do not go to waste once a plane has retired. About 50 to 60 aircraft meet their final fate here at the hands of AIS professionals each year, including those from aircraft jocks Boeing and Airbus. Large planes are dismantled into more than 2,000 smaller parts that are further utilized in aviation or other industries.

In France, the Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport boneyard serves as a retirement home for the high flyers. Whether the plane is just temporarily inactive or requires recycling, this boneyard is the foremost pick for French airlines. It has ample space to shelter almost all types of these white birds, from small jets to whale-sized commercial airliners.

The Tarbes Advanced Recycling & Maintenance Aircraft Company Aerosave (TARMAC), a name synonymous with total eco-friendliness, also has a base at this facility to aid in the dismantling and recycling of these airplanes at a capacity of up to 100 units at a time. The facility stores the reusable parts, like plane engines, in optimum condition until further use.

Moreover, the boneyard provides storage and dismantling space for the thunderous wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380, within Europe. When strolling here, you will come across airplanes from airlines worldwide, such as Air France and Etihad Airways. The planes are here for maintenance, storage, dismantling, or recycling.

Located in Australia, the Alice Springs Airport is the largest boneyard outside the U.S. It began hosting retired airplanes in 2014. Since then, it has housed several aircraft that have completed their tenure, as well as those that will be disassembled to extract their parts for further use. With a storage capacity of up to 200 aircraft, this boneyard is a hotspot for preserving planes in the region.

The boneyard saw a huge surge in demand during COVID-19 when the aviation industry took a major hit in operations. Hundreds of aircraft rested here during the decline in aviation traffic because of strict travel restrictions at the Alice Springs Airport. The weather conditions are perfect for preserving the billions of dollars worth of planes, including those from Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. In fact, Cathay Pacific grounded nearly 70% of its entire fleet, about 180 aircraft, when COVID-19 hit. Once the operations returned to normal, the mechanical birds began to make their way back up to the blue canopy above us.

Rows and rows of white aviation vehicles as far as you can see! The Kingman Airport Boneyard is another popular spot in Arizona, U.S., that spreads out to the horizon and beyond. Built on about 4,000 acres of dry terrain, the area is dedicated solely to the storage and recycling of retired aircraft. It initially came into being during World War II as a training field for the U.S. armed forces. Once the war was over, the land became an epicenter for surplus aircraft, making room for around 5,500 excess warbirds for sale and storage.

Fast forward to 2025, the boneyard is still home to air giants who sit patiently awaiting their final fate. From large DHL Airbus jet freighters to American Eagle airliners, the boneyard has a diverse customer base including nearly 250 privately-owned aircraft stored on its premises. If you are someone who is fascinated by aviation wonders, this boneyard will be a treat for you. However, getting across the fence line may not be permissible.

This boneyard has an interesting history. Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Arizona was a mainstream military base during World War II, but once the war ended and the number of military planes exceeded the need for them, a place was required to store and dismantle them. So, this airport became the last refuge for the aviation birds that fought in the skies of the European and Pacific theaters. Be it the U.S. Marines, Army Air Forces (later the Air Force), or the Navy, retired aircraft turned to this airport. On top of this, the boneyard is also a famous site for training new pilots.

Today, the boneyard stretches up to 1,300 acres and can store decommissioned commercial planes for long periods. Not all retired airplanes are dismantled for parts. Some of the used ones are bought by different nations like China and India to be used as cargo-carrying air vehicles. This practice is cost-effective. At Phoenix Goodyear, the large 8,500-foot (2,590 m) runway can create a safe landing space for queens of the sky like the Boeing 747.

The Teruel Airport boneyard is located in Europe and is known to be the continent's largest airplane boneyard, with a parking space for more than 400 retired and damaged aircraft. Tarmac Aragon, a subsidiary of Airbus, is a major contributor to this boneyard's success. It has a large-scale facility that provides storage, maintenance, and repair services for approximately 140 airplanes. 

Therefore, it won't come as a surprise to find the white giant Airbus A380s parked at Teruel in large numbers, as they weren't exactly a success in the aviation industry. In fact, the COVID-19 era witnessed the most arrivals of these airborne leviathans — over 22 — from renowned airlines like Etihad Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa Airlines, and more.

Teruel, which sits in the heart of northeastern Spain, has an ideal dry and mild climate, with the sun shining over the land 242 days a year. Such conditions make it a perfect site for aircraft storage. Moreover, the recycling process is extremely advanced at this boneyard, making it possible to recover 92% of the total weight of each aircraft for the parts to be reused for several other purposes. This is actually massive as it reduces waste production.

Also known as the Victorville Airport, the SCLA is built on approximately 2,200 acres of land and provides facilities for storing, maintaining, and disassembling damaged or retired aircraft to maximize the use of their parts. The runway length of 13,050 feet makes it possible to ground larger aircraft, like one of the largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, which was dismantled in 2023.

The boneyard became a hub for storing unused aircraft, especially during challenging periods such as the 2008 Global Economic Crisis and the COVID-19 era, when air traffic almost came to a standstill and big airlines suffered huge revenue losses. Consequently, they had to reduce their fleet to cut operational costs.

Planes that cannot be used any longer await the scrapping process, while those that can be disassembled for parts are dismantled here. This boneyard is also a sought-after place for modification of jets and airlines, with their prominent customers being United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. At any given time, the airport can support up to 500 aircraft.

This airplane graveyard is located in the famous Mojave Desert in California. Established in 1935 as a small-scale airfield, the place gained recognition when the U.S. Marine Corps took over for training purposes during World War II. In no time, it flourished as an airport and became a central point for storing airliners and commercial planes thanks to its dry climate and low humidity levels.

If we look at the overall facility, there are three runways and the port covers an area of over 3,300 acres. Mojave has developed into a full-fledged research flight research center, on top of providing maintenance, storage, and scrapping services for decommissioned planes. One thing should be clear. Not all of this area is dedicated to the boneyard. It also facilitates research centers and maintenance units. Consequently, it ranks below the Davis-Monthan Boneyard in capacity.

The last of the Boeing 747s owned by Qantas took refuge here in 2020. The Mojave Boneyard also became a sought-after place for airplanes that experienced reduced demand during COVID-19. One such case happened with China's Airbus A380, which could not survive the harsh economic downturn following the pandemic, forcing China to retire all five of its Airbus A380 fleet in this vast, dry land.

The U.S. military forces own the largest fleet of aircraft in the world. To ensure effectiveness and maintain their position, the government retires outdated aircraft before they begin to hinder performance and safety. This is why the Department of Defense destroyed hundreds of F-14 Tomcats at this famous military boneyard.

Retired planes from the U.S. military go to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base after their serving period comes to an end. Based in an area of more than 2,600 acres, the boneyard has over 5,000 aviation vehicles, including U.S. ballistic missiles and government planes in huge numbers, earning it the nickname of simply "the Boneyard." Be it C-141 Starlifters, F-16 Fighting Falcons, or C-130 Hercules, you see it here. At its peak following the Vietnam War, it harbored 6,080 aircraft.

The area stretches as far as one's eye can see, with airplanes neatly tucked in perfect rows and columns, making up a scenic view that people from around the world come to witness. Various environmental elements, like low humidity and extremely hard alkaline soil that enables the storage of heavy aircraft without the risk of sinking altogether, make this place an ideal pick for a boneyard.

On top of being a popular storage site for retired airplanes, the Davis-Monthan boneyard also serves "to restore aircrafts in storage to flying status," according to Major Philip Ventura of the 2nd Bomb Wing. Large bomber aircraft, like the B-52, took the skies once again after resting in the boneyard for more than a decade.