The End Of The Road: Inside The French Airport Where Planes Are Recycled

What happens to aircraft when they retire? When the time comes, aircraft go into boneyards and are eventually broken up and recycled. The most notable boneyard and aircraft recycling center in France is Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport near the French Pyrenees. Here the company TARMAC Aerosave maintains, stores, and recycles aircraft in the largest operation of its kind in Europe. Most of the famous aircraft boneyards are in the United States, but others are found elsewhere around the world. The largest aircraft boneyard where aircraft go to die outside the United States is in Alice Springs, Australia. Another notable aircraft recycling center…