KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As airlines continue to scale back flight schedules due to plummeting demand, officials are trying to figure out where to put idle planes.
One of the locations, at least for Delta Air Lines, appears to be at Kansas City International Airport.
As of Friday, March 27, seven Delta planes were parked on a taxiway at KCI.
"It's almost a slow ramp up to what we saw on 9/11, and to see those planes parking and not flying and taking people to and fro for their business and their leisure, it's surreal, and it's....sad," KCI spokesman Joe McBride said.
Passenger traffic is down 80 percent based on the number of TSA screenings, McBride added.
He also estimates about half of the airport's flights have been changed or canceled.
Airlines are looking for concrete real estate nationwide to park planes while demand is down.
"There are mechanics on site to take a look at those aircraft from time to time to make sure they don't fall into disrepair for when things get back to normal and they can get flying again," McBride said.
Meanwhile, construction continues on the new terminal, where workers are practicing social distancing.
The project is currently being funded through the issuance of $900 million in bonds, which McBride said is enough to keep construction going for "at least another year."
