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Air India Pays Parking Bill as Long‑Grounded 737 Is Removed From Kolkata

Executives blame record‑keeping failures across mergers for the jet slipping off asset registers.

Overview

  • The Boeing 737-200, registered as VT-EHH, had been parked at Kolkata Airport since 2012 after earlier service with Indian Airlines and a lease to India Post following cargo conversion.
  • Kolkata Airport assessed roughly Rs 1 crore in accumulated parking fees, which Air India has paid, according to the Straits Times.
  • Chief executive Campbell Wilson acknowledged the lapse, saying the aircraft had been omitted from internal records and that the company did not realize it still owned the jet.
  • Following an internal audit and ownership confirmation, the aircraft was sold or transferred and transported to Bengaluru to be used for ground-based maintenance training, recent reports state.
  • The rediscovery was prompted by the airport’s November request to remove the plane, adding to scrutiny of the airline’s governance this year.