New Delhi/Melbourne: The skies are eerily empty these days, presenting a new challenge for the world’s embattled airlines as they work to safeguard thousands of grounded planes parked wingtip to wingtip on runways and in storage facilities.
More than 16,000 passenger jets are grounded worldwide, according to industry researcher Cirium, as the coronavirus obliterates travel and puts unprecedented strain on airline finances. Finding the right space and conditions for 62% of the world’s planes and keeping them airworthy have suddenly become priorities for 2020.
Aircraft can’t simply be dusted back into action. They need plenty of work and attention while in storage, from maintenance of hydraulics and flight-control systems to protection against insects and wildlife — nesting birds can be a problem. Then there’s humidity, which can corrode parts and damage interiors. Even when parked on runways, planes are often loaded with fuel to keep them from rocking in the wind and to ensure tanks stay lubricated.
“Nobody thought this magnitude of preservation would need to be done,” said Anand Bhaskar, chief executive officer of New Delhi-based Air Works, a plane repair and maintenance company. “Parking space is a problem. These are logistics nightmares which we’re trying to work around.”
Mass Grounding
The number of passenger jets in service is the lowest in 26 years, according to Cirium. Managing such large-scale storage is a challenge for an industry already in crisis, with airlines worldwide slashing capacity to close to zero or not flying at all. The International Air Transport Association has warned that revenue from flying passengers could drop by nearly a third of a trillion dollars this year and that 25 million jobs are at risk.Airlines are hunting for space on the ground at airports or in longer-term storage facilities in arid places such as Australia’s outback and the Mojave Desert in the U.S. At Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, KLM Group has more than 200 aircraft at gates and on a runway, arranged according to size and type, and ensuring enough space for them to be towed if maintenance is required, according to a post on the company’s website.
“Schiphol is packed,” KLM Community Manager Annemiek Cornielje wrote. “Not with passengers, unfortunately, but with the many aircraft parked on the ramp and even on a runway. Choreographing this sad and unique sight is quite a parking-puzzle,” she said, adding that Schiphol isn’t charging parking fees.
Charges differ from airport to airport. In India, parking alone can cost $1,000 a day for a large aircraft, according to Mark Martin, founder of Dubai-based Martin Consulting LLC. For an airline with a fleet of more than 250 jets, even heavily discounted rates may mean expenses of $12.5 million for a six-month grounding, without taking into account maintenance costs, he said.
In its online magazine, IATA said it asked governments to cut parking fees, which usually account for less than 2% of airport revenue in a normal year. Under current circumstances, those charges could “make-or-break” some airlines, it said.
via This is what happens to the world’s planes when they can’t fly for weeks
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