On 23 August, American Airlines will retire 20 MD-82 and MD-83 aircraft to Roswell, New Mexico, one of the largest single-day aircraft retirements in airline history. American is retiring a total of 45 MD-80 series aircraft this year, leaving 52 in the fleet at the end of 2016. At one point, the American MD-80 fleet numbered 370.

Tracking into Retirement

The aircraft bound for Roswell will be departing from all over the US, including Chicago, Salt Lake City, Tampa, Minneapolis, Raleigh, Pittsburgh, and Dallas-Fort Worth. 17 of the aircraft were originally delivered to American Airlines, while 3 were acquired from TWA. The average age of the aircraft being retired tomorrow is 28 years old.

You can track the aircraft via the registrations listed below, or use a combination callsign (AAL) + airport (in=ROW) filter to follow all the flights.

Registration Type Year Delivered N403A MD-82 1986 N436AA MD-82 1987 N477AA MD-82 1988 N479AA MD-82 1988 N481AA MD-82 1988 N482AA MD-82 1988 N485AA MD-82 1989 N486AA MD-82 1989 N493AA MD-82 1989 N499AA MD-82 1989 N564AA MD-83 1987 N565AA MD-83 1987 N569AA MD-83 1987 N570AA MD-83 1987 N571AA MD-83 1987 N70504 MD-82 1989 N7520A MD-82 1990 N9401W MD-83 1993* N9402W MD-83 1993* N9404V MD-83 1993*

*Originally delivered to TWA.

Upon arrival in Roswell, the aircraft will be processed by two American Airlines employees and then transferred to third-party contractors for storage, lease returns, aircraft sales, and parts. If you’re looking to purchase a used MD-80, now may be good time to visit Roswell, New Mexico.