MOJAVE (California): One of the busiest airports in the United States these days is a place where most of the aeroplanes that land never take off again.

The Mojave Airport, about 100 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, is home to the nation’s largest graveyard for commercial passenger jets, and in one of the most telling reflections of the airline industry’s woes, business here is booming.

“We’re looking at levelling more ground to accommodate more aeroplanes,” said Dan Sabovich, general manager of the airport, where nearly 200 aeroplanes, including seven 747 jumbo jets, now sit along the runway with their engines and windows covered with tape.

In the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the airline industry has been in a dizzy free fall as skittish passengers stay off flights, prompting airlines to postpone orders for new aeroplanes and take many older aeroplanes out of service.

Since the September 11 attacks, the number of aeroplanes landing at the airport to be parked or scrapped has increased dramatically, even surpassing the rate that the airport experienced in the last airline downturn a decade ago. Planes flown by virtually all major airlines are represented, from American and Delta to Continental and US Airways.

The number of commercial passenger aircraft taken out of service worldwide could reach 2,000 planes in 2002, compared with the record 1,100 already parked as of Sept 1, according to Airclaims Limited. —Dawn/The Los Angeles Times News Service.