Haven for planes: why dozens of jets suddenly land at a quiet airport in Spain

Airlines facing disruption from the escalating conflict in West Asia are once again turning to a remote airport in eastern Spain to park planes, reviving a pattern last seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Planes are arriving at Teruel Airport, a state-owned facility in Spain’s Aragon region, as airspace closures and rerouted flights disrupt schedules, Reuters reported on Friday.

Read also: Why plane tickets will squeeze you more in April

Why is Teruel seeing action again?

The immediate trigger is the dysfunction caused by the war in West Asia. With several countries closing airspace and airlines having to choose longer routes, airlines are reassessing fleet deployments and temporarily grounding some aircraft.

« It’s not normal, » terminal general manager Alejandro Ibrahim said. « Companies are reviewing their fleets and routes and looking for safer places to park their planes, and Europe fits the bill. »

According to Reuters’ schedule, the airport is expected to receive about 20 planes by the end of Saturday, 17 of which were from Qatar Airways. About 10 widebody jets were scheduled to arrive on Friday alone.

What makes this airport suitable

Teruel is not a commercial passenger center that allows aircraft parking without operational restrictions. It also has scale – the airport can accommodate up to 250 wide-body and 400 narrow-body aircraft.

Its location plays a key role. The airport is located more than 1000 meters above sea level and experiences more than 250 sunny days a year. Dry, salt-free conditions reduce corrosion, making it suitable for long-term aircraft storage.

A role shaped during the pandemic

The use of the airport as a storage center is not new. During the Covid-19 pandemic, when global tourism collapsed, Teruel hosted around 140 aircraft over two years. « We have acted as a refuge and supported global air traffic, » Ibrahim described how the facility has been used during times of disruption.

Why can’t airlines park planes anywhere?

Wide-body aircraft cannot be stored at any airport because typical commercial hubs are operationally crowded and environmentally suboptimal for long-term storage. Busy passenger airports already use nearly every gate and provide revenue-generating flights, leaving little room or spare capacity to park dozens of large jets for months at a time without disrupting schedules and slot management.

In contrast, special depots like Teruel are designed as low-traffic « boneyard »-style facilities with no regular passenger traffic, allowing aircraft to sit idle on the tarmac without disrupting commercial traffic.

In addition, many standard airports are located in humid, coastal or rainy areas, which accelerate corrosion and contamination of fuel tanks, where ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and OEM-related guidelines specifically warn against long-term storage.

« It is recommended to keep the average cabin humidity below 70 percent relative humidity to minimize mold and corrosion problems, » ICAO says in its Aircraft Parking and Storage Bulletin. « Moisture can also cause corrosion to the metal structure of the fuel tank. »

Desired storage locations are located in a dry indoor climate with low humidity and low exposure to salt, which significantly reduces the risk of corrosion of structures and systems and makes return to service simpler and cheaper. Airlines therefore prefer a handful of dedicated wide-body depots such as Teruel.