UPS officially retires their MD11 fleet.

UPS McDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-11F N257UP (MSN 48451)

United Parcel Service (UPS) have officially retired its entire McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter fleet, following a tragic crash in November 2025. The announcement was made on the 27th of January 2026 as part of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report.

The MD-11, a three-engine widebody freighter introduced in the late 1980s, has been a long-standing workhorse for UPS on long-haul international cargo routes. At retirement, around 26 MD-11s – roughly 9% of UPS’s fleet – were in service, valued for their heavy-lift capacity and long range.

Rising maintenance costs, fuel inefficiency, and the challenges of operating an ageing trijet design had already made the MD-11 less economical compared with modern twin-engine freighters.

The crash on the 4th of November 2025 of UPS Flight 2976, departing from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF/KSDF), which killed 15 people including three crew, accelerated the decision to retire the aircraft. In the immediate aftermath, UPS grounded its MD-11s on FAA guidance, with FedEx and other operators temporarily halting their MD-11 operations.

UPS plans to replace the MD-11 with more efficient aircraft, including the Boeing 767-300F and 777F. Over the next 15 months, 18 new Boeing 767 freighters will be delivered, 15 of them in 2026. The move is expected to cut fuel and maintenance costs and support long-term operational efficiency.

The end of MD-11 operations marks the close of an era for the distinctive trijet, while signaling a wider industry shift toward modern, fuel-efficient twin-engine freighters optimised for global supply chains

FedEx plans to have its entire fleet of MD-11 cargo planes back in service by the 31st of May, coinciding with the close of its fiscal fourth quarter.

FEDEX McDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-FFF N573FE (MSN 48769)

I couldn’t find any details about when Western Global plans to return their MD-11s to service.

WESTERN GLOBAL McDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-11F N781SN (MSN 48781)