On an aircraft graveyard: Bare Bones of Planes

Suddenly they find themselves there in the middle of nowhere, far from any airport. Two airplanes, forgotten by the world, their noses smashed, their wings clipped, their tails eaten off. An Airbus 320 - 214 and a Fokker 100 stand on the outskirts of the small Slovakian town of Liptov, surrounded by ancient fire and rescue vehicles. It's an slovakian aircraft graveyard with the bare Bones of two planes.

After 33 years of servic eth Fokker 100 is out of order

Airbus & Fokker

An aircraft graveyard of an unusual kind, because there are no planes parked here that, like those in the large aircraft parking lots in the USA, were mothballed in case there might be a further need for their services one day. No, the Airbus and the Fokker, which were formerly in use for the airline Helvetic under the registration OE-IDY, were saved from scrapping by a theme park operator.

Airbus stripped down to the bones

Ten years ago, the Fokker 100 with the registration HB-JVH flew regularly from Switzerland to Berlin. After it was decommissioned, the aircraft, which was first put into service by the Libyan airline Arab in 1991, landed in Slovakia. But is isn't a Lost Place like other ones.

Who is shooting on this target?

A long way to Slovakia

The plane had already come a long way when Fantasiapark Liptov decided to no longer only show its guests aircraft from Boeing and Saab, but also a few classic examples from Airbus and Fokker. Located in Liptovský Mikuláš and therefore approx. 280 km from Bratislava, the indoor park Fantázia Liptov Park was reopened in 2022 after the pandemic crisis. It is aimed primarily at families with younger children and has also had its first roller coaster this year - for a small amount

It seems mighty without the noose

But what seemed like a rescue from the scrap press for the two machines didn't quite work out. After they were half disassembled and laboriously transported from the nearest airfield to the Fantazia Liptov Park, there was no longer enough strength to put them back together and turn them into a major attraction, especially for small visitors, as planned.

The Tatra fire engine

Airplane ruins

So now they eke out a meager existence as airplane ruins, flanked by fire engines that are even older than they are. A local Tatra fire engine is standing there, the bright red only slightly faded, and next to it, a fellow sufferer, is a Skoda ladder truck, whose rust is already in its bones.

The fire car made by Skoda in socialist times

The corpses of the vehicles can only be moved with the help of other cars. In order to perhaps put the planes in the spotlight one day, the operators of the amusement park have also gotten a real schlöepper from the airport. Until the time comes, a day that will surely be very far away, they stand there in rain, sun, storm and snow. And wait patiently for what comes first: your rediscovery as an attraction. Or at least their end in the scrap press.