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Delta, American, and other airlines are parking planes on closed runways at major airports as carriers struggle to store grounded airliners

Nick Oxford/Reuters

The world's largest airline, American Airlines, is preparing for a scale back in flying for April by grounding its planes at airports across the country.
  • The world's airports are being converted into storage facilities for aircraft as airlines drastically reduce their operations.
  • Frankfurt Airport, Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, among others, have closed runways and taxiways to store excess aircraft from major airlines.
  • US airlines are also flying their aircraft across the continent for favorable storage conditions found in the southern region of the country.
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The impact of the coronavirus has seen thousands of planes restricted to terra firma for the time being and space is becoming limited. Some US airlines are sending their planes to temporary homes in the desert designed for long-term aircraft storage .

What once were major international transit hubs including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Frankfurt Airport are now storage areas for the aircraft of their tenants as space is more useful as a parking lot than a runway

A stark reduction in the demand for travel combined with government travel bans have crippled the airline industry and forced their aircraft to sit idle on the ground instead of in the air where they belong. Some airlines are temporarily closing up shop entirely .

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Aircraft still flying are largely going empty as travelers are canceling their bookings en masse for fear of contracting the virus or being stranded as more countries continue to close their borders and airlines unpredictably change their flying schedules.

Take a look at how the world's airports have transformed into storage facilities.

See Also:

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SEE ALSO: 11 air traffic control centers have been temporarily closed after workers tested positive for coronavirus, highlighting a vulnerability in air travel

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