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Air India’s Boeing 737-200 Has Been Grounded Since 2012 in a Remote Area of Kolkata Airport, Acumulated Around R$ 610 Thousand in Fees, Was Rediscovered After Internal Audit, and Will Travel by Land for Training in Bengaluru, India, Where It Will Only Serve as a Static Platform for Aeronautical Technical Education.
An Air India Boeing 737-200, withdrawn from service and parked in 2012 in a remote area of Kolkata Airport, India, was forgotten for 13 years accumulating parking fees. During this entire period, the plane remained grounded while airport management charged fees that totaled around 10 million Indian rupees, equivalent to R$ 610 thousand.
The situation only began to change when a recent internal audit confirmed that the aircraft identified as VT-EHH actually belonged to the airline. From then on, Air India took on the debt, authorized the aircraft’s removal from the airport, and decided that the equipment would be taken by land to Bengaluru to be used only as a training platform, with no chance of taking off again.
How the Aircraft Managed to “Disappear” for So Many Years
The Boeing 737-200 was officially withdrawn from service in 2012 and parked in a less crowded area of Kolkata Airport.
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When terminal management attempted to contact the airline to have the aircraft removed, Air India insisted that the aircraft was not theirs, which stalled any quick solution to the problem.
According to the airline itself, the combination of high employee turnover and failures in internal records caused the aircraft to simply disappear from corporate files over time.
In practice, no one took responsibility for the equipment, even though the plane remained physically parked in the airport’s yard.
Million-Dollar Fine and R$ 610 Thousand in Parking Fees
While the impasse continued without resolution, Kolkata Airport management continued to charge parking fees for the space occupied by the aircraft.
Over 13 years, the accumulated amount reached the equivalent of 10 million Indian rupees, approximately R$ 610 thousand.
After the internal audit confirmed that the VT-EHH aircraft belonged to Air India, the airline was obliged to pay the amount owed to the airport.
Only then could the removal of the aircraft be organized, ending a story of over a decade of ongoing expenses for a completely stationary airplane.
Land Journey to Bengaluru and Definitive Retirement
With the financial situation regularized, the aircraft was lifted and placed on a special transport vehicle to travel by land to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, also in India.
Instead of receiving full maintenance and returning to transport passengers or cargo, the 737-200 will have a definitive retirement on the ground.
At its new destination, the aircraft will be used as a fixed training platform for aircraft maintenance technicians, allowing for inspection exercises, disassembly of components, and simulations of onboard systems procedures.
The aircraft will remain intact, but without flight certification, acting solely as a practical laboratory for training specialized manpower in the aviation sector.
The Long Journey of the Boeing 737-200 VT-EHH
The aircraft in question is 43 years old and was manufactured in 1982. Before ending up forgotten in Kolkata, the Boeing 737-200 went through different phases of operation.
It first flew for Indian Airlines, then was transferred to Alliance Air for regional flights and later directed to freight transportation.
From 2007, the aircraft was used more intensively in cargo operations and was even employed by the India Post for transporting shipments.
In 2012, however, it was permanently deactivated and parked at Kolkata airport, where it remained until being rediscovered in the internal audit, closing a trajectory marked by management failures, accumulated costs, and an unexpected end as a training piece on the ground.
And you, what would you do in the airline’s place: would you try to recover the old aircraft to fly again or would you leave the aircraft only as a training tool on the ground?
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