Image: Adrian Pingstone · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
UPS and FedEx phase out MD-11 freighters, turn to Boeing 767 and 777F aircraft
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is being retired by major cargo carriers, with UPS replacing it by Boeing 767 freighters and FedEx extending MD-11 use until 2032 before transitioning fully to Boeing 767 and 777 freighters.
The gist
UPS retired all MD-11s in 2025 switching to Boeing 767s, while FedEx keeps theirs until 2032, replacing them with Boeing 767 and 777 freighters.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has been a pivotal three-engine freighter for global cargo since its 1990 entry into service, especially embraced by UPS and FedEx for their long-haul overnight delivery networks. While passenger airlines phased out the type in favor of newer twinjets, cargo operators valued the MD-11’s combination of intercontinental range and substantial payload capacity. However, evolving economics and regulatory events have changed the aircraft’s standing in cargo fleets.
UPS moved decisively to retire its entire MD-11 fleet by the end of 2025 following a fatal crash of one of its MD-11s in November 2025 near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. This incident led the FAA to issue an emergency airworthiness directive grounding all MD-11s until inspections and corrective actions were completed. UPS opted not to return to MD-11 operations, instead leveraging its existing fleet of Boeing 767-300 freighters to rebuild airlift capacity lost from the MD-11 withdrawal.
As of late 2026, UPS operates 110 Boeing 767-300 freighters, having added five more in the first half of the year, effectively replacing its 26 retired MD-11s. The 767 fleet, while smaller in size than the MD-11, is already integrated into UPS’s global network, making it a logical and expedient substitution. UPS also supplements capacity for longer and heavier routes with its Boeing 747 freighters, coordinating aircraft deployment to balance payload and route requirements efficiently.
FedEx has taken a more gradual approach, retaining 29 MD-11s as of May 2026 and planning to operate them through to the end of 2032. Originally planning MD-11 retirement by 2028, FedEx extended the timeline to align fleet capacity closely with demand forecasts. After the FAA lifted the airworthiness restrictions in May 2026 following required Boeing-led inspections, FedEx resumed MD-11 operations cautiously, preserving the fleet's unique payload-range profile during the transition to newer aircraft.
FedEx’s cargo fleet also includes 152 Boeing 767 freighters and 59 Boeing 777 freighters. While the 767 operates medium-haul routes, the 777F serves as the modern large long-range replacement for the MD-11, with a maximum structural payload of 105.8 tonnes—significantly exceeding the MD-11’s 87.4 tonnes. This diverse fleet mix allows FedEx to match aircraft capability precisely to route and cargo demand, facilitating a phased retirement of the MD-11 without loss of service efficiency.
UPS’s strategy to replace MD-11s exclusively with the 767-300 results in some payload and range compromises per single flight, occasionally requiring flights to be distributed across more legs or supplemented by larger aircraft. FedEx, by contrast, is maintaining MD-11 use while building up its 767 and 777F capacity, allowing it to cover the full spectrum of payload and range requirements without immediate capacity shortfall.
The retirement of the MD-11 marks the end of an era for trijet freighters, underscored by shifting operational economics favoring twin-engine aircraft with lower fuel burn and maintenance demands. UPS’s rapid transition reflects a decisive break prompted by safety concerns, while FedEx’s extended use prioritizes operational continuity. Both airlines’ eventual reliance on Boeing’s widebody twins illustrates the aircraft’s dominant status in freight aviation for the foreseeable future.
Frequently asked questions
- Why is the MD-11 being retired from cargo operations?
- The MD-11 is being retired due to changing economics favoring more fuel-efficient twin-engine aircraft, maintenance cost considerations, and safety concerns following a fatal UPS MD-11 crash and subsequent FAA grounding.
- How is UPS replacing its retired MD-11 freighters?
- UPS has retired all 26 of its MD-11 freighters and is replacing that capacity primarily with Boeing 767-300 freighters, supplementing heavy or long-range routes with Boeing 747 freighters.
- What is FedEx's plan for its MD-11 fleet?
- FedEx plans to keep its 29 MD-11 freighters in service until the end of 2032, gradually replacing them with a mix of Boeing 767 and 777 freighters to match cargo capacity and route demands.
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FAA orders nationwide ground stop after communication failures at all ARTCCs
The FAA has ordered a national ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” It is the second time since the 9/11 attacks that the agency has ordered a ground stop at all airports. The previous instance was in January 2023 following the failure of the Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) system . “The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” the agency said in a statement Friday afternoon. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide updates.” Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) provide aircraft separation, traffic sequencing, routing assistance, and airspace coordination services to aircraft operating on IFR flight plans within controlled airspace, primarily during the en route phase of flight. They are divided into sectors, each handled by one or a team of air traffic controllers. There are 22 ARTCCs in the U.S. The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them. — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) November 13, 2026 Per an Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisory from the FAA: "Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. Attention all aircraft operators, by order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis." An unnamed airline source told CNN that the communications issues originated from a problem with network routers. A controller at William P. 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Controllers Nationwide Report Ground Stop Air traffic controllers across the U.S. reported the ground stop. A ground controller at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) was one of the first to report the disruption, telling the pilot of a Southwest Airlines airplane that "we went into a national ground stop, all aircraft, with update unknown." The transmission was made a little after 3:30 p.m. EST. "Are you saying national, like Reagan National [Airport], or national the whole country?" another pilot asked a few minutes later. "Across all en route facilities they're having communication issues, so ground stop for all aircraft, with update time unknown," the controller replied. Elsewhere, a controller at Minneapolis-St. Paul International (KMSP) said at 3:44 p.m. EST that "all airports are ground stopped until 22:00 Zulu for a nationwide outage." 22:00 Zulu translates to 5 p.m. EST. 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One portion of the ATC modernization effort involves the Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories, or SMART, system. The AI-powered, cloud-based platform was rolled out to all of the nation’s ARTCCs earlier this week and is based out of a center in Washington, D.C. SMART centralizes about 200 data streams—including weather patterns, flight paths, traffic flow, and controller staffing metrics—into one platform. FAA personnel in Washington, D.C. use the information to make scheduling recommendations that are routed to air traffic controllers, who can accept or decline them. The system was initially deployed in the Washington, D.C. area in September. Air Space Intelligence, the firm the FAA contracted to develop SMART, said Friday that the communications issues at ARTCCs are “not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI, or our integration with FAA and ATC.” This is a developing story.
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