KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As airlines scale back flight schedules due to plummeting demand, many airplanes are sitting idle at airports all over the country, including at Kansas City International Airport.
There were 103 planes parked on a taxiway Wednesday at KCI, and most are in the care of Aviation Technical Services, or ATS.
“We’re used to seeing airplanes parked at gates and to look out and see just that number of airplanes sitting, it epitomizes the pandemic and how it has affected us,” Trey Bryson, the senior vice president of operations for ATS, said.
ATS usually performs heavy maintenance for its airline customers. Since the COVID-19 outbreak has interrupted air travel and caused airlines to ground fleets, the company has been tasked with taking care of parked planes.
“When you put an aircraft into short-term storage, that doesn’t mean you just park the airplane and walk away," Bryson saud. "There are certain maintenance requirements that are still in place."
The parked planes are loaded with fuel to keep them from rocking in the wind. The wheels are covered to protect them from the sun and the plane’s engine is turned on once a week.
“There are systems and sensors on the aircraft that need to be covered and protected," Bryson said. "The engine inlets need to be covered. Basically, anything that allows access inside the airplane needs to be protected. We need to ensure everything is in working order, so when we go to wake that airplane up it’s ready to fly.”
Although maintaining the parked planes are keeping some workers employed, ATS has struggled since the pandemic hit, because airlines have fewer planes flying and are scheduling less maintenance checks.
ATS has applied for federal help and is working with U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican.