Abandoned for 13 Years: Kolkata Airport’s Forgotten Air India Boeing Finally on the Move

Kolkata: A Boeing 737-200 aircraft, abandoned at Kolkata Airport for over 13 years, has finally left the premises on a tractor-trailer bound for Bengaluru, where it will be used to train maintenance engineers. This marks the 14th retired aircraft to be removed from the airport over the past five years.

The 43-year-old aircraft, which had been lying idle at the southeastern edge of the airport since 2012, was transported on 14 November as part of ongoing efforts to clear old planes from the premises. The space it vacated will soon be used for one of two proposed new hangars.

A Surprising Story Behind the Plane
This Boeing has an unusual story. First, Air India itself had no record of the plane’s existence. Second, it was the only aircraft sold with Pratt & Whitney engines intact—unlike nine other retired planes that were disposed of without engines.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson revealed in an internal post that the airline only became aware of the plane when Kolkata Airport authorities informed them. The aircraft had disappeared from company records and organizational memory following Air India’s privatization three years ago, leaving its documentation missing from corporate archives.

A Look at the Aircraft’s History
Registered as VT-EHH, the Boeing 737-200 joined the Indian Airlines fleet in September 1982. It was leased to Alliance Air in February 1998 and returned to Indian Airlines in March 2007 as a cargo aircraft. After Indian Airlines merged into Air India in August 2007, the plane was transferred to the national carrier.

The aircraft was officially retired in 2012. Until then, it had been used by the Indian Postal Department. After retirement, it remained abandoned at Kolkata Airport for over a decade, largely unnoticed.

Parking Fees and Final Transfer
Air India sold the plane to Bangalore International Airport Limited for use in training MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) engineers. For its 13-year stay at Kolkata Airport, Air India was charged nearly ₹1 crore in parking fees. Other retired Air India planes have been purchased by private companies, with some converted into restaurants or other structures.

Other Notable Removals
In addition to ten other Air India aircraft, four historic planes, including the Douglas DC-3 Dakota, were also removed. The Dakota, once flown by Odisha’s former CM Biju Patnaik to rescue Indonesian Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir and India’s Vice President Mohammad Hata during the Dutch blockade of 1947, was transported to Bhubaneswar Airport for display.

Currently, only two ATR planes owned by government-operated Alliance Air remain at Kolkata Airport, awaiting their turn for