AN airline has admitted it rediscovered a missing Boeing passenger jet it lost over a decade ago, and now faces a hefty parking fine.
Air India said it misplaced one of its aircraft in Kolkata Airport back in 2012.
The 30-tonne, 30-metre-long jet was left in the airport for 13 yearsCredit: X/@flyingTrini
The jet seemly disappeared from records until the to request the Boeing 737-200 be removed.
Now the airline has been slapped with a parking fine of nearly 10 million rupees (about £85,000).
Air India initially insisted the aircraft was not theirs, according to reports.
But the airline’s internal audit eventually identified the 30-tonne, 30-metre-long plane as their .
Over the years, staff turnover and record-keeping gaps meant the jet slipped out of the airline’s official documentation.
The plane was originally registered to Indian Airlines, a different state-owned airline that merged with in 2007.
The Boeing was then rented to the Indian postal service and converted into a cargo aircraft before it was deregistered in 2012.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson reportedly said the plane had been decommissioned years ago to operate for India Post – and was somehow omitted from many official documents.
The 43-year-old jet was sold and transported by road to Bengaluru two weeks ago, where it will now be used for air-crew ground training.
Air India paid the airport the fine in accumulated parking and handling fees for the aircraft’s 13-year stay, officials confirmed.
The reclaimed jet had an unusually long and varied career.
It flew for Indian Airlines, Alliance Air and India Post before being decommissioned in 2012.
The removal of the Boeing 737-200 marks the 14th abandoned aircraft cleared from Kolkata Airport in the past five years, officials said.
They added that two more unclaimed aircraft — ATR-72s formerly operated by Alliance Air — have also been sitting at Kolkata Airport for roughly five years.
These aircraft remain parked in a remote area on the southwestern side of the airfield.
This comes after a London-bound Air India passenger plane crashed in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people onboard the flight in June 2025.
In November, Air India grounded three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners for “extensive investigations” after the crash earlier this year.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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