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While gazing at an airplane passing thousands of feet overhead, or when you are just about to board a flight at the airport, have you ever noticed that the majority of airplanes are white? Sure, some have decorations and names in different colors, but the base color behind those add-ons is almost always white.

Now, thinking of your summer wardrobe, which has at least a couple of white items, be it a T-shirt, a pair of pants, or a skirt. The main reason people prefer white on a hot day is its particular ability to reflect sunlight. The color white is a terrific reflector of sunlight, and reflects almost all the light that falls on it, unlike other colors, which absorb some of the light. So, just like clothing, aircraft producers use white paint to keep airplanes cool. It minimizes the heating as well as the potential harm from solar radiation. Planes have some parts made from plastic, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. Those things in particular need the most protection from the blazing sun.

The next reason for painting planes white is even more practical. It's just cheaper to have white-colored plane. You see, all airplanes start out white when they're made. But what if an airline decides to paint theirs, say, bright yellow? An additional layer of paint will add more than 1,000 pounds of weight to the aircraft. The paint on a Boeing 737 weighs 180kg and on a Boeing 747 is around 500kg. Weight increment means the increase of fuel burnt, and that can get pricey. Most airlines want to avoid the higher cost.

When flying at high altitudes, exposed to various atmospheric conditions, colored airplanes tend to fade, and thus require a lot of paint jobs to maintain their artistic appeal. A white-colored airplane, on the other hand, doesn't appear significantly different, even after spending a considerable amount of time in the air.

Besides, airplanes are regularly inspected for cracks and any other form of surface damage for obvious safety reasons. Nothing works better than white when it comes to spotting a crack on the surface, as the crack is almost always darker than white. Plus, a white plane is easier to spot visually in the event of a crash or any other mishap, especially at night, or in a massive body of water.

Additionally, [a study](https://pubag. nal. usda. gov/pubag/downloadPDF. xhtml? id=53820&content=PDF) published in Human-Wildlife Interactions found that the paint job does make a difference to birds: "This finding suggests that a whiter airframe would stand out more against the sky from the perspective of the flying bird's visual system." [According to ABC](https://abcnews. go. com/US/story? id=6658028&page=1), approximately $300 million dollars' worth of damage to planes is caused by birds each year. There you have it: Planes are white to keep you as safe and comfortable as possible, with the added bonus of hitting by fewer birds.