Airports in Tucson, Arizona: Private, Municipal, Regional(All)

Tucson International (TUS) and Davis-Monthan (DMA): Arizona's Second City and the World's Greatest Aircraft Boneyard

Commercial Aviation Hub and the 4,400-Aircraft Military Boneyard That Makes Tucson Unique on Earth

Tucson's aviation identity is defined by two facilities that could not be more different in character — and yet together they make Tucson one of the most remarkable aviation cities anywhere in the world. Tucson International Airport (TUS) is Arizona's second-largest commercial terminal, connecting the Old Pueblo to major US destinations and international routes, serving the University of Arizona community, the defense industry that defines much of Tucson's economy, and the tourism drawn by Saguaro National Park, the Sonoran Desert, and the surrounding sky island mountain ranges. Then there is Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMA) and its 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) — the legendary "Boneyard" where over 4,400 retired military aircraft from the US military and allied nations are stored in neat rows across 2,600 acres of Sonoran Desert, visible from the air and from the publicly accessible viewing area along Kolb Road.

The AMARG facility at Davis-Monthan is a phenomenon without parallel in the world. No other location on Earth stores this many aircraft — B-52 Stratofortresses, F-15 Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotankers, and scores of other aircraft types from every era of the jet age. The dry Sonoran Desert climate — low humidity, minimal rainfall, alkaline soil that doesn't promote corrosion — makes Davis-Monthan uniquely capable of preserving aircraft for decades. Many planes stored here will eventually be returned to service, either for the US military or for foreign military assistance customers. Others will remain in long-term storage as insurance against future needs, and some will be disassembled for parts to keep active fleets airworthy.

Tucson International Airport itself serves a metropolitan area of nearly one million people and a university community that makes it one of Arizona's most intellectually vibrant cities. TUS handles commercial airline service from major and regional carriers, with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines among the primary operators. The airport's proximity to Davis-Monthan and the associated defense industry — Raytheon Missile Systems is Tucson's largest private employer — means business aviation between TUS and defense-related destinations is a significant traffic component alongside commercial leisure and university travel.

TUS and the AMARG Boneyard: Tucson's Extraordinary Aviation Legacy

Tucson International Airport and Davis-Monthan's AMARG facility together make Tucson one of the most aviation-significant cities in the United States. TUS provides the commercial connectivity Arizona's second city requires, while Davis-Monthan's boneyard represents an aviation heritage museum of active operational equipment — thousands of aircraft stored in the desert that represent the entire history of American military jet aviation, from early Cold War fighters to the most recent generation of combat aircraft.

For aviation enthusiasts, Tucson's combination of the publicly viewable boneyard, the active F-16 and A-10 training operations at Davis-Monthan, and the Pima Air and Space Museum adjacent to the base creates one of the world's greatest aviation tourism experiences, all accessible from Tucson International Airport's commercial services.