Bhubaneswar: A 43-year-old Boeing 737 aircraft that had been lying abandoned at the Kolkata Airport for more than 13 years has finally been removed — but not before accumulating a parking bill of nearly ₹1 crore.
The aircraft, registered as VT-EHH, belonged to Air India and was decommissioned in 2012. Since then, it had remained parked on a taxiway at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, gradually becoming an eyesore and a reminder of long-standing administrative neglect.
Airport officials said the airline had not initiated any steps for its disposal for over a decade, resulting in significant parking charges piling up. The abandoned aircraft also created operational inconvenience due to its position on airport grounds.
After years of inaction, the narrow-body jet was finally moved on November 14 and transported to Bengaluru, where it will be repurposed as a non-flying training asset for aircraft maintenance engineers.
Authorities say the relocation marks the end of a prolonged chapter of bureaucratic oversight, even as questions remain about how such a situation went unresolved for so long.
-OdishaAge
