An aircraft mystery that sounds almost fictional turned out to be very real. Air India has confirmed that it lost track of one of its own airplanes for more than a decade, only realizing the mistake after airport authorities asked the airline to remove it, as reported by The Independent.
The aircraft in question was a Boeing 737-200, a first generation version of the 737 that had been parked at Kolkata Airport in 2012 after being withdrawn from service. Somewhere along the way, it vanished from Air India’s internal records, even as the airport continued charging parking fees year after year.
According to Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson, the plane slipped through the cracks during multiple restructurings, including the 2007 merger with Indian Airlines and the airline’s privatization in 2022. Because the jet no longer flew and never appeared on key asset lists, it was repeatedly left out of inventories and effectively forgotten.
The situation only came to light when Kolkata airport issued a formal request for the aircraft’s removal. After verifying ownership, Air India acknowledged the oversight and agreed to pay nearly Rs10 million in accumulated parking fees. The plane was finally removed in mid November and transported by road to Bengaluru, where it will be repurposed for ground based engineering training.
Aviation analysts say such cases are extremely rare, as grounded aircraft are normally tracked closely due to regulatory requirements and maintenance documentation. Still, airport officials noted that this was the 14th abandoned aircraft cleared from Kolkata airport in the past five years, highlighting broader enforcement and record keeping gaps around retired planes.
In the end, the long lost jet had little resale value, but its rediscovery closed an unusual chapter for Air India and freed up space for new hangars at one of India’s busiest airports.
