Qatar Airways parks planes in Spain as conflict continues

• Transferred to Teruel Airport
• Around 20 at the facility
• Teruel hosted planes during Covid

Qatar Airways has sent some of its largest aircraft across the world into storage as the Doha flag carrier battles ongoing disruption caused by the Iran conflict.

The airline has transferred the jets to Teruel Airport, a remote airport in rural Spain used for maintenance and parking, over the past week. 

Five additional aircraft were moved on Sunday, adding to around 15 already at the facility. The jets are made up of A380, A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft, the Financial Times reported.

“This is a temporary measure, and the aircraft will be progressively returned to service as flight operations are restored to normal levels,” a statement from Qatar Airways sent to AGBI said.

Teruel Airport played host to over 130 planes during the Covid pandemic, from the smaller Boeing 737 to a dozen A380.

“It’s warm and dry there so there is minimal risk of any aircraft being impacted as they would be stored in a desert,” said John Grant, partner at UK-based Midas Aviation and an AGBI columnist.

Qatar Airways, which operates one of the major hubs in the Gulf linking countries in the east to the west, said it will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe full reopening of Qatari airspace.

The company has been hit hard by the regional conflict, with almost 90 percent (89.49 percent) of flights from Hamad International Airport cancelled since the air strikes from Iran were launched on February 28, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.

The situation has improved since the onset of hostilities, but Qatar Airways still saw almost 40 percent (37.88 percent) of flights cancelled on Monday.

Further reading:

• Iran conflict sends airline operating costs soaring
• Airline seat cancellations caused by Iran war top 6m
• Qatar Airways CEO expects Airbus deliveries this year