Summary
Brett Smith recently visited Tucson Airport to report on the stored airliner situation.
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Tuscon International
Worth stopping by, or using as a gateway to exploring Arizona, Tucson International is not as busy as Phoenix for airline service, with mainly commuter flights to various hubs. However, it is also used for airliner storage and maintenance, including a SkyWest Airlines base. The airport also has a wing of the Air National Guard based, with facilities at the northern end of the airport.
The passenger terminal and cargo ramp are on the eastern side of the main runway, 11L/29R. Most stored aircraft are in the north west corner of the airport.
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Storage Area
These pictures show some of the current stored airliners are Tucson Airport taken by Brett Smith.
As well as some fairly modern airliners, like these Embraer 190s recently retired by Air Canada and an Arkia Airbus A321neoLR, there are also some really old frames, like these Boeing 727s and a de Havilland Canada DHC-8 prototype used by the Pima Community Aviation College.
To see the aircraft stored on the western side of the airport, head north from the terminal, then turn left onto Valencia Rd. Turn left again onto Nogales Highway, and explore the side streets. Stop to note registrations but don’t linger.
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Thanks to Brett Smith for contributing these pictures.
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