Airports around the world are becoming giant parking lots as they shut runways to make space for grounded aircraft.
Runways, along with taxiways, and maintenance hangars, are being used to store aircraft as flights drastically reduce in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.
The number of planes in storage has doubled to more than 5000 since the start of the year, according to Cirium data. This is expected to increase over the coming weeks as airlines including Air New Zealand, Qantas and Singapore Airlines cut further flights.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the US city of Atlanta, the world’s busiest airport, has completely closed one runway and planes are parked on another two as well, Simple Flying reported.
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Twitter user Kim Paquette shared pictures of Delta planes lined up on an Atlanta runway with the caption "600 of our 900 planes grounded and 3 0f 5 runways in the busiest airport in the world are being used as parking lots".
Germany’s largest airport in Frankfurt "is a ghost town of silent airliners", according to the Reuters report, with its northwest landing runway, taxiways and bridges being used to store aircraft for airlines such as Lufthansa and Condor.
600 of our 900 planes grounded and 3 of 5 runways in the busiest airport in the world are being used as parking lots. ? #Covid_19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/mXQOWROc37
Data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows crowds of parked planes at multiple other major airports, including Hong Kong, Berlin, Vienna and Seoul.
Paris-Charles De Gaulle has reportedly closed two runways to store aircraft, while Delhi airport is almost full, The Independent reported.
A spokesperson for Delhi airport told the publication: "We have allowed airlines to park at the remote bay area near runways. Many hangars have also been given to park the aircraft."
Twitter user Sarin&Co shared a picture tagged to Delhi airport showing long lines of parked planes.
"The domestic flight ban comes into force tonight, planes are already parked on Runway 27," the caption read.
The domestic flight ban comes into force tonight, planes are already parked on Runway 27 @DelhiAirport#Covid19India #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/Oshuiu5825
India has suspended all commercial domestic flights indefinitely to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Smaller airports have also effectively become parking lots. Justin Giddings, chief executive of Avalon Airport west of Melbourne, told Reuters the airport expects to take 50 grounded planes from Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar.
Qantas is parking about 100 other planes at other airports around Australia and its 747s at a desert storage facility in Alice Springs, Reuters cited an unnamed source saying.
Air New Zealand and Auckland Airport have been approached for comment.
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