Images reveal airports as parking lots as COVID-19 grounds more than 16,000 aircraft

Photo credit: Getty Images/Maxar Technology.

New aerial images released by a satellite technology company have put into pictures just how much the travel industry has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maxar has shared updated satellite photos taken above some of the world's busiest airports which have all basically become glorified parking lots.

Hong Kong Airport, which last year processed over 70 million passengers, is using just about all available space to park aircraft that are no longer flying. Cathay Pacific, which is based in Hong Kong, has 130 aircraft in need of space to park, and that's just one airline.

Airports turned parking lots from around the world:

Honolulu International Airport:

Photo credit: Maxar Technologies

Hong Kong International Airport:

Photo credit: Maxar Technologies

Frankfurt Airport:

Photo credit: Maxar Technologies

Charles de Gaulle Airport:

Photo credit: Maxar Technologies

Copenhagen Airport:

Photo credit: Maxar Technologies

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport:

Photo credit: Getty Images

Glasgow Airport:

Photo credit: Getty Images

Munich Airport:

Photo credit: Getty Images

Berlin Brandenburg Airport:

Photo credit: Getty Images

A recent report from Bloomberg estimated there's at least 16,000 passenger aircraft currently grounded at airports around the world.

Parking aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars each into tight spaces would be a stressful job. Earlier this week, photos emerged of what was probably someone's worst day at work ever when they accidentally steered their aircraft into the back of another, causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

Contact Newshub with your story tips:
news@newshub.co.nz