Stranded, Fixed, And Memed: UK’s $110M F-35B Jet Finally Leaves Kerala After A Month-Long Stay

After over a month of sitting idle on the tarmac at Thiruvananthapuram airport, a British Royal Navy F-35B combat jet finally flew out on Tuesday (22 July) following extensive repairs, Hindustan Times reported.

The advanced stealth fighter, worth around $110 million, had made an emergency landing on 14 June after reporting low fuel levels while en route to the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, stationed about 100 nautical miles off the Kerala coast.

A British High Commission spokesperson confirmed, “The aircraft departed from Thiruvananthapuram international airport… after the engineering team completed repairs and safety checks, allowing the aircraft to resume active service.”

Bad weather on 14 June had prevented the jet from safely returning to the carrier. While it landed safely in Kerala, it developed an engineering issue on the ground, delaying its return for weeks.

Several repair attempts were unsuccessful until a UK-based team with specialised tools arrived on 6 July.

Stranded but Famous

While engineers worked on repairs, the jet’s extended stay didn’t go unnoticed by the public. Its presence led to a flood of memes online.

Since the jet went down in Kerala, the F35 has become a favourite meme across social media platforms. The Kerala tourism even posted a funny ad with the picture of the stranded jet saying, “Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend.”

The memes went so far that the F35 even got a meme Aadhaar in its name. The most notable among them was Johny Lever’s Khatta Meetha’s iconic character, Award Anshuman, where he played the role of a mechanic, funnily repairing a road roller, went on to repair the British fighter.

India's Seamless Support

Meanwhile, the UK also accepted India’s offer to move the jet to a nearby maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. “To ensure minimal disruption to regular airport operations, it was decided to move the aircraft once UK engineering teams arrive with specialist equipment,” a source said.

Throughout the stay of the aircraft, Indian authorities cooperated closely with the British side. “The UK remains very grateful for the support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We look forward to continuing to strengthen our defence partnership with India.”

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