Planes that would normally take us on holiday around the world are grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic and getaways are on hold for now.
But where are the jets parked until they can once again take to the skies? And what’s happening to them?
We asked travel giant TUI what it’s done with its fleet of 59 long-haul Boeing 787s, short-haul 737s and some older mixed-use 767s and 757s.
Almost half the jets, including the 787 Dreamliners, are at Manchester – 15 of them – and Gatwick, which has 13.
The rest of the fleet is on the tarmac at Bristol, Newcastle, Birmingham, Doncaster Sheffield, Luton and Glasgow.
Although the planes are not flying, there’s plenty going on as aircraft are put into what’s known as “active storage” so they are ready to go straight back into flight operations as soon as TUI Airways is given the green light for holiday travel to Europe, North Africa, the USA, Caribbean and Far East.
Technicians and engineers still have a considerable amount of work to tackle while the jets are grounded by the pandemic.
And the only real difference between the normal maintenance programme and how it operates when they are flying on their normal rotations is that the work can be completed just during the day, not on a 24/7 schedule to cope with early departures and late landings.
Engineering and maintenance active storage programmes vary depending on the aircraft type, but essentially include seven, 14 or 28- day cycles for monitoring temperature and humidity, system testing, deep cleaning and cosmetic repairs to make sure they can come back to passengers looking their best.
The planes’ twin engines have to be powered up once a week and the aircraft are regularly towed (like being taken for a walk!) to keep their tyres in the best condition.
The airline’s maintenance operations control manager Simon Hills said: “This is the first time in the history of TUI Airways that our entire fleet is on the ground across the UK, so we’re working on 59 aircraft parked across eight UK airports.
‘’We want to make sure they’re all ready to fly to the 88 destinations we operate to, as soon as our customers can once again enjoy a well-deserved holiday.”
