British Navy's Stranded F-35B Jet In Kerala Set To Fly Back Tomorrow As Repairs Complete, UK To Pay Parking Fees

After being grounded in Kerala for more than a month, the British Royal Navy's F-35B fighter plane is scheduled to fly again on Tuesday (22 July), reported The Indian Express.

On 14 June, the aircraft made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport while on a regular flight outside of India's air defence identification zone.

Repairs to the Air India Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility have been completed. The airport officials confirmed, “The jet is now being taken back to the bay from the hangar, where it has been undergoing repair and assessment since 6 July after an engineering team from the UK arrived in Thiruvananthapuram.”

A 14-person engineering team from the United Kingdom that carried out safety checks and repairs will return home on Tuesday (22 July).

“The 14-member engineering team… will return to the UK by Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft, which will land here on Tuesday. The fighter jet will also fly back on Tuesday,” officials added.

The airport is now calculating the parking and land usage fees. “It would range between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 a day. Besides, there would be a fee for land for the fighter jet and the Airbus. It is calculated between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh,” an official said. Air India will separately charge for the use of their MRO facility.

The UK High Commission thanked Indian authorities for their support, stating, “The UK remains grateful for the support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams.”

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