Why retired nuclear carriers overwhelm a buyer's fleet

Could allied navies cheaply buy retired American nuclear aircraft carriers to strengthen their fleets?

Operating them economically would be implausible. Manning two ships and their support system could consume or exceed the personnel strength of the allied fleet expected to operate them.

Using a rough estimate of around six thousand people for each ship and air group, two American nuclear carriers would need about twelve thousand embarked personnel. Supply, maintenance, and nuclear infrastructure take the illustrative total to about twenty thousand. In this comparison, that exceeds the regular and reserve Australian Navy combined and would consume much of the Royal Navy. The ships would also arrive at around fifty years old with worn hulls and high running costs. A low purchase price would still leave an allied navy facing a large increase in personnel and support requirements.