In a startling case of corporate amnesia, Air India has admitted it lost track of a Boeing 737 cargo plane for 13 years, only to be reminded of its existence when an airport demanded its removal and payment of substantial parking fees.
The Forgotten Freighter
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-200 registered as VT-EHH, was parked at Kolkata airport in 2012 when it was decommissioned from service. It then vanished from the airline's internal records. In the years that followed, Kolkata airport authorities diligently continued to levy parking fees for the stationary jet, sending invoices to Air India.
The airline, however, disputed these charges, arguing it had no record of the plane being at the airport. This standoff continued until the airport issued a formal request for Air India to remove the aircraft, prompting an internal investigation.
An Admission from the Top
Air India's chief executive, Campbell Wilson, acknowledged the extraordinary oversight in an internal message to staff. "Though disposal of an old aircraft is not unusual, this one is – for it's an aircraft that we didn't even know we owned until recently!" Mr Wilson stated.
He explained that over time, the plane was "lost from memory" and only came to light when airport officials asked for its removal from a remote parking bay. "After verifying that it was indeed ours, we've now done so – and in so doing removed another old cobweb from our closet," he added.
How Does an Airline Lose a Plane?
According to Air India, the aircraft slipped through the cracks during successive corporate restructurings. It began its service with Indian Airlines and was absorbed into Air India after the carriers merged in 2007. Later adapted for freight, it was leased to India Post before being withdrawn.
The plane was "repeatedly left out of internal records," including during the airline's privatisation in 2022, meaning it never appeared on key transfer documents. Aviation analysts expressed surprise, noting the industry's typically tight control over assets.
"Given the regulatory oversight, it's hard to imagine an airline genuinely losing track of an aircraft," John Strickland, founder of JLS Consulting, told the Telegraph. "Maintenance histories and component serial numbers are normally very tightly controlled."
Resolution and Repurposing
The saga concluded with Air India agreeing to pay its dues. Kolkata airport recovered close to Rs10 million (£83,362) in accumulated parking fees. The aircraft was finally removed on 14 November and transported by road to Bengaluru.
There, the vintage jet – a first-generation 737 model introduced in the late 1960s – will be repurposed for ground-based engineering training. The parking space it occupied for over a decade will be used for one of two new hangars planned at the airport.
Airport officials noted that VT-EHH was the 14th defunct aircraft cleared from Kolkata airport in the past five years, highlighting wider issues with abandoned planes and unresolved ownership disputes in the aviation sector.
