The Mystery of the Giant Plane Sitting Just Outside El Paso

Usually when you see planes stationed on the ground, usually they're at the airport, getting ready for takeoff. Or perhaps they're retired and sitting in the hanger in a museum or elsewhere. You don't usually find an airplane sitting next to your car, but along the Texas/Mexico border, there is ONE you can find that's on the other side of El Paso located in Juarez, Mexico.

This isn't a small airplane either like a Cessna or a Piper. No. This is A GIANT Boeing 737 jet that's located on the other side of the Rio Grande, along the Border Highway.

To be completely honest, I had NO IDEA there was even a plane that's across from Downtown El Paso, but if you search on Google Earth, you can easily spot it. (include Google Earth photos).

Google Earth

Google Earth

You can also see what it looks like up close on Google Street View.

Google Maps

Google Maps

So why IS there a plane just sitting across the El Paso border?

What's the story for the plane close to the El Paso/Juarez border?

It's called the "BiblioAvion" (or Book-Plane). Yup. This retired Boeing 737 plane was moved near the El Chamizal park in Juarez in 2019 for one main reason: to teach children how to read.

This plane was a collaboration between the Municipal Government of Juarez & the Department of Education with the main purpose to teach children how to read (with the use of computer labs), while also showing kids the inside of an airplane (including the cockpit where the pilots fly the plane). There's even an amphitheater that can seat 250 people on the site near the airplane.

Juareznumero on Instagram also made a post that showed the art designs on the outside of the plane too. For those who have never been inside this plane, one user on YouTube, Elias Campos, did a video tour of the plane back in 2019.  He mentions that this plane in particular USED to be a former Mexican presidential plane (if you translate the title of the video into English that is). But if you're curious on what the inside of this plane looked like, we included Elias' video for you to watch.

Where can you find the BiblioAvion plane in Juarez?

After you cross the Paso del Norte International Bridge off of S Stanton St in El Paso in Juarez, the BiblioAvion will be located at Parque El Chamizal; 32300 Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. According to Google, it's hours are Monday-Friday, 8am to 3pm. However there IS an official website that shows that, as recently as March 1, 2026, the hours are actually from 9am to 5pm.

If people wish to learn more, they must contact the Department of Education on their website. People can also schedule tours by calling 656-737-0600.

If you want to learn more about El Paso's history, you can read about Marty Robbin's film he made about El Paso here.

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