In pictures: Grounded aircraft around the world
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The coronavirus crisis has affected everyone and everything — from individuals who are isolating to the health care system and the travel industry. Specifically, airlines.
Related: Where is British Airways parking its planes during the coronavirus outbreak?
Carriers from around the world have been forced to cut capacity, with some even grounding entire fleets. As a result, bizarre scenes are cropping up all over the globe as the aircraft take a rest on stands, aprons and even runways.
Here are 10 of the most beautiful and haunting images from airports around the world in the past few days.
Related: The logistical problems with grounding aircraft and pilots
Incheon International Airport, South Korea
Korean Air has drastically cut many of its routes, especially in Northeast Asia. It’s taken to grounding a number of its fleet at its hub airport of Seoul Incheon (ICN).
Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific will cut 96% of its passenger capacity in April and May, leaving lots of aircraft lined up at its hub airport, HKG.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, United States
Parts of the world’s busiest airport are starting to look like a parking lot. Delta Air Lines, which is based in Atlanta, is parking more than 600 of its 1,340 aircraft, with the airline’s expectation to come back much smaller after the coronavirus.
Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands
KLM will reduce its network by up to 90% in the coming days, and in a devastating blow for AvGeeks, the airline will retire its Boeing 747 fleet.
Frankfurt Airport, Germany
Whilst repatriation efforts continue, Lufthansa is paring down its network. During its period of capacity cuts, it will continue serving select destinations in the U.S. and other countries.
Vienna Airport, Austria
Following news that Austrian Airlines will temporarily suspend all operations beginning March 18 through at least March 28, it’s in the process of bringing most of its aircraft home to Vienna (VIE).
Glasgow Airport, United Kingdom
British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group announced last week that it is slashing capacity by 75%, with aircraft being parked across many airports. While BA’s long-haul fleet is quite spread out right now — from Heathrow to Cardiff and even Manila — most of its A321s are grounded at Glasgow.
Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka
SriLankan Airlines has a huge swathe of cancellations across its network. As such, it’s taking to parking most of its aircraft at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB).
For those of us who love the aviation industry, it’s upsetting to see so many aircraft parked, with nowhere to go. As airlines around the world continue to suspend operations, it’s likely many of these aircraft will remain grounded for several weeks — if not longer. Hopefully, soon enough, we’ll see them return to the skies.
Featured photo by DANIEL ROLAND/AFP via Getty Images
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