The Arava Desert: Where planes may go to die

Dozens of planes will be retired from service at a planned airplane graveyard in the Arava Desert, the Committee for Principal Planning said Tuesday. The region, which spans 642 acres, is set to become a storage site which can accommodate 500 airplanes from around the world.

The plan is that about 25 aircraft will be dismantled each year and a further 60 airplanes will be stationed there, Maariv reported Tuesday. This means the site will host a tenth of all aircraft that are retired yearly worldwide.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel criticized the plan, saying “instead of preserving the natural landscape of the Arava Desert, it was decided to turn the South into the garbage can of the world.” The SPNI added that a plan involving a huge import of aircraft waste without a solution for recycling is characteristic of third world countries.

The initiators of the projects defended it by saying airplane boneyards are a feature of developed first world countries, and that it would create many jobs in the area.