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At the end of an aircraft’s life, it’s usually sent to the boneyard. These storage facilities are filled with retired airliners and not much else, with most planes partially taken apart so that their parts may be reused. To some, it’s a sad sight to see retired aircraft sit unused with missing components, while to others, it’s fascinating to see where and how planes live after they’ve finished their useful service lives. Planes may remain here for years or decades, which means that you can find some unusual sights at aircraft graveyards.
Some boneyards may contain aircraft once flown by airlines that have long since disappeared, while others are relics of important events. Aviation has become rather homogeneous, as almost every large airliner you see today is an Airbus A320, A330, A350, Boeing 737, 777, or 787, and the boneyards are where you can find true diversity in aircraft. But even among these storage yards, there are some where you will find some truly unusual retired aircraft, some of which are seldom discussed.
Nicosia International Airport
Nicosia International Airport (NIC) used to be the primary international airport serving the island nation of Cyprus. In 1974, however, Türkiye invaded Cyprus, and NIC was closed as a result. The airport was heavily bombed by Turkish forces, causing significant damage to the airfield and parked aircraft. The airport subsequently came under the control of the United Nations, and it’s still controlled by the UN. While NIC has generally been closed since the invasion, its last official commercial flights took place in 1977, which were specifically ferry flights for previously grounded planes.
The 1977 flights were conducted under UN Special Authorization and were operated by three former Cyprus Airways aircraft. These aircraft were retrieved by British Airways engineers and flown to London. However, a fourth aircraft, a former Cyprus Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, was damaged beyond repair and was never flown out of NIC. The aircraft’s engine was cannibalized to get another Trident out of NIC during the 1977 operations, while the former is still permanently grounded on the site of the former NIC airport.
This admittedly isn’t really a full aircraft graveyard since there’s only one large aircraft that’s been left to rest here, but it’s one of the most unique stories for any retired plane that isn’t on public display. Meanwhile, although this Trident has been parked for over 50 years, it’s not lacking company. The UN still maintains a buffer zone around the airfield and even operates helicopters out of NIC. More recently, it’s also been suggested to transform the airport and former terminal building into a museum, although it remains to be seen how far these plans will go.
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Located in Surrey, England, Dunsfold Aerodrome was originally constructed during World War II by the Canadian Army and subsequently used by the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as the Royal Air Force. After the war, it was used by the Hawker Aircraft Company (which later became Hawker Siddeley) and by BAE Systems, which later sold off the airport. Dunsfold is no longer used as an active airport, but it does notably serve as home to a Boeing 747-200 originally flown by British Airways, as well as two former British Airways 747-400s that joined in 2020.
While it’s the 747s that earn Dunsfold a place on this list, it’s actually the most famous airport on this list because it was home to the motoring show Top Gear from 2002 to 2020. Top Gear primarily favored Dunsfold due to the flexibility offered by a largely empty airfield, but the 747-200 that had long been based at Dunsfold has been used in the past as a film prop. Meanwhile, the second 747 was also used for film/television productions before being broken up, while the third 747 (painted in British Airways’ ‘Landor’ livery) is intended to be preserved as a local landmark.
Aircraft Registration | Aircraft Type | Line Number | First Flight | Preservation | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G-BDXJ | Boeing 747-236B | 440 | March 1980 | May 2005 | British Airways European Air Charter AirAsia Malaysia Airlines Air Atlanta Europe |
G-CIVW | Boeing 747-436 | 1157 | May 1998 | October 2020 | British Airways |
G-BNLY | Boeing 747-436 (Landor colors) | 959 | January 1993 | December 2020 | British Airways |
Dunsfold won’t be around for much longer, as local governments have approved a plan to essentially demolish the airfield and redevelop the land for new housing. For now, meanwhile, it remains a unique place to spot retired 747s that once served the flag carrier of England, while also serving as a convenient location for film and television teams to shoot footage involving commercial airliners.
Zhukovsky International Airport
Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA) is a smaller international airport located within Moscow Oblast and about 22 miles (36 km) southeast of Moscow’s city center. While it’s primarily used for civilian flights today, it was originally built as a military airbase, and the Russian Air Force has long used ZIA to store retired military aircraft. Little has been officially published on the operations of the graveyard portion of ZIA, but we have some insight based on satellite photographs and first-hand accounts/pictures from visitors.
This airport has played host to a wide variety of retired Russian military aircraft, experimental planes, and prototypes over the years. This includes older Sukhoi and MiG fighters, along with Soviet-era transport helicopters. This site also houses a Tupolev Tu-144, and it previously hosted an unfinished Buran orbiter (a reusable Soviet spacecraft similar to the American Space Shuttle). In addition, there are several retired Soviet-era commercial airliners and decommissioned missiles.
Visitors can enter the graveyard during select public events like MAKS (which has not been held since 2021), but this area of the airfield is otherwise restricted. The section is owned by the Gromov Flight Research Institute, and the site is used as a secure testing facility. Because public tours have become increasingly rare and Russia has generally become extremely isolated, few details in recent years have emerged as to the activities currently ongoing at ZIA. The most information available today is current satellite imagery, which depicts the retired aircraft currently on display.
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (MXE) is a fairly quiet airport in North Carolina that primarily caters to general aviation traffic. MXE is also home to a sizable facility operated by Charlotte Aircraft, a company that takes apart retired airliners and sells their parts. What’s notable about this facility compared to others is that it’s home to an unusually high concentration of former Northwest Airlines aircraft. Northwest was formerly a major US international carrier, but it merged with Delta Air Lines in the late 2000s, and the name hasn’t been around for over 16 years.
This is therefore one of the last places in the world where you can still find aircraft painted in Northwest colors, and especially in such high numbers, relatively speaking. This includes former Northwest Boeing 727s and DC-10s, aircraft types that essentially don’t fly anymore today, along with some 747s. Strikingly, most of the planes located at MXE are painted in Northwest’s 1989 ‘Bowling Shoe’ livery, and not the later 2003 ‘NWA’ livery that was used in the carrier’s final years.
These planes are all in various stages of disrepair, and most of them have been significantly parted out, but it remains one of the few places in the world where you could feasibly pretend that you’re in the 1990s when glancing at the Northwest aircraft. MXE is also where the National Air and Space Museum sourced a forward fuselage section from a 747 for display, which came from Northwest’s first 747-100. In addition, MXE is home to other retired airliners, including a former Delta 747-400 (inherited from Northwest during the merger).
Kwajalein Atoll
As part of the US’s Central Pacific campaign against Japan in World War II, the nation captured the Marshall Islands in 1944. The intense battles between the Americans and the Japanese left dozens of wrecked fighter planes in the waters surrounding the islands. Subsequently, the US began significant air operations out of the Marshall Islands, including in Kwajalein Atoll, which were crucial to the country’s success in the Pacific against Japan. In 1945, the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, then on Nagasaki, and Japan surrendered, ending World War II.
Following the end of the war, the US found itself with hundreds of warplanes that it largely didn’t need, and many of which were outdated or nearly outdated by 1945 standards. What’s more, the US lacked space on its ships headed back to the US for these aircraft, as it prioritized sending military personnel home. The US military decided to simply throw the planes away, which was done by loading aircraft onto barges and then dumping them into the lagoon near Kwajalein.
It’s estimated that the United States disposed of roughly 150 warplanes near Kwajalein, and the planes remain at the bottom of the lagoon over 80 years later. These planes are still fairly intact, since they weren’t shot down during combat, and they’ve been taken over by coral over the decades. The planes have become a popular destination for experienced scuba divers and underwater photographers, and you can view aircraft like Grumman F4F Wildcats, Douglas SBD Dauntlesses, Curtiss C-46 Commandos, and more.
