Airliners awaiting their payload at an airport. A line of McDonnel Douglas DC-10 aircraft seen parked at an airport. The small, silver-coloured crates littering the parking area are standard passenger luggage containers. The container system, which is also used for cargo, allows the aircraft to be turned around (unloaded and reloaded) fairly quickly, reducing the time spent on the ground. The DC-10 is a long-range, three- engined jet airliner, one engine is mounted in the tail just below the fin. The foreground aircraft belongs to Northwest Airlines, the other two to Continental Airlines.