What links Saddam Hussein, Tom Cruise, and Doctor Who? Surprisingly, a Cotswolds airport in Gloucestershire plays host to this unique connection. This private airfield near Kemble is home to one of the UK’s most fascinating aviation sites: a sprawling plane graveyard operated by Air Salvage International (ASI).
For more than 30 years, Mark Gregory and his team at ASI have been dismantling, recycling, and salvaging aircraft at this facility. Starting in the early 1990s with redundancy pay, Mark bought his first plane and spent six months breaking it into parts. Today, ASI has processed over 1,400 aircraft and employs a large workforce to meet the aviation industry’s growing demand for recycled parts.
Airlines often choose to send ageing jets to Mark’s yard rather than pay for costly maintenance – a commercial plane’s MOT can run around £1 million. ASI can sometimes recover as much as £12 million from a single aircraft, through reusable components or recyclable materials.
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ASI also supports high-profile training exercises, helping organisations such as the SAS prepare for aviation emergencies. One memorable drill involved crushing a van beneath an aircraft fuselage, simulating a hijacking with injured passengers, providing realistic challenges for elite forces.
The site’s dramatic scenery has attracted many film productions, including blockbusters like The Fast and the Furious 6, World War Z, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Mission: Impossible, and Batman. TV shows such as Doctor Who and Casualty have also featured the airport, making it familiar to millions.
Mark himself sometimes makes cameo appearances—whether “piloting” a Boeing 727 or casually playing drums in his office overlooking the runway. Beyond plane recycling, ASI sells aircraft parts to enthusiasts via their sister site planestation.aero. Items range from decommissioned pilot seats priced at £6,000 to smaller fuselage windows sold for £150, with proceeds supporting staff events.
Occasionally, forgotten valuables or strange finds emerge during dismantling. Wallets stuffed with cash are often returned to owners, but some discoveries are more startling. Over 15 years ago, a significant cocaine stash was uncovered behind panels in a plane’s rear lavatories. Authorities were promptly informed, revealing the drugs were likely smuggled into Europe but abandoned for fear of detection.
ASI’s expertise extends to crash site investigations, assisting in tragic aviation disaster inquiries. Their skill at identifying aircraft components and remains proved invaluable during the 2010 Afriqiyah Airways crash in Libya, which claimed over 100 lives.
Among the planes difficult for Mark to part with is a VIP Boeing 727 once commandeered by Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War. Originally Kuwaiti Royal family property, the jet boasted an opulent interior: plush velour seats with footrests, mahogany-paneled walls housing state-of-the-art TVs, and still-unopened champagne bottles beside glass vases with plastic roses.
The Emir and other royals used the aircraft for luxurious travel before Iraqi forces seized it. A patch of carpet, now covered in mould, was once the Emir’s throne, where he issued commands from 30,000 feet.
This eerie plane graveyard combines history, drama, and aviation mystery, making it one of the most extraordinary places in the UK’s skies.