Qatar Airways Parks 60 Aircraft Amid Iran War Tensions

A significant portion of the Qatar Airways fleet has been parked for an extended period at airports far from its home base in Doha. A total of 60 aircraft are currently grounded at airports in Teruel Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Istanbul , Cairo, U-Tapao and Brisbane Airport. The airline’s total fleet consists of 270 aircraft.

The move is likely driven by a sharp decline in passenger demand, reducing the need for these aircraft over a longer period. There may also be insufficient parking capacity at Doha Airport. In addition, there is limited expertise locally for long-term aircraft storage. Finally, there is a possibility that Iranian drones could target aircraft stationed in Doha. Qatar Airways does not comment on the reason for the parking.

At Teruel Airport, the following aircraft are currently parked (as of March 22). Reuters reports that a total of 17 Qatar Airways aircraft are expected to be parked there by the end of Saturday, March 21.

• A7-ACU, A7-ACW, A7-AEP, A7-ACX, A7-AEN — A7-AEJ, A7-AEE, A7-AEF, A7-AED Airbus A330
• A7-AER A330 (was ferried from Warsaw)
• A7-APC — Airbus A380
• A7-ALG, A7-ALL — Airbus A350
• A7-BHX, A7-BCV — Boeing 787
• A7-ANC, A7-ANG, A7-ANT, A7-ANS — Airbus A350-1000
• A7-AHJ — Airbus A320

At Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the following aircraft are parked. Several of these aircraft operated their last commercial flights to Auckland and Jakarta in late February. After a few weeks, they were flown to Kuala Lumpur:

• A7-BOC, A7-BAS, A7-BBB — Boeing 777
• A7-ALI, A7-AOC — Airbus A350

At Brisbane Airport, the following aircraft are parked. Some have been stationed there since February 28 or March 9, while others were previously positioned in Melbourne (since March 11) or Sydney (since February 28):

• A7-BEG, A7-BEL, A7-BAQ, A7-BEM, A7-BER — Boeing 777

At Istanbul Airport 6 aircraft are parked

A7-BCC, A7-BHJ Boeing 787

A7-AHX Airbus A320

A7-ANO, A7-ANI (ferried to Doha March 23) , A7-AND (ferried to Doha March 23), A7-ANJ Airbus A350-1000

A7-ALW Airbus A350-900

At Pattaya (UTP) 6 aircraft are parked:

Airbus A350-9 – A7-ALK

Airbus A350-1000 – A7-ANM, A7-AOC

Boeing 787 – A7-BCU

B777-300 – A7-BAN, A7-BOE

At Cairo airport are parked

Airbus A350-941:
A7-ALN
A7-ALQ
A7-AMI, A7-AMH

Boeing 777-3DZ(ER):
A7-BEC
A7-BAM
A7-BAE

Boeing 777-3ZG(ER):
A7-BOG, A7-BOB, A7-BOH

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner:
A7-BHD

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner:
A7-BCT
A7-BCD
A7-BCN
A7-BCB

Patked at San Francisco

A7-ANA Airbus A350-100

Parked at Zurich

A7-AMG A350-900