After month at Kerala airport, British Royal Navy's F-35B fighter jet set to fly out, parking fee bill being prepared
Sources at the airport said the repair of the fighter jet at the Air India hangar is complete. 'The jet is now being taken back to the bay from the hangar, where it has been undergoing repair and assessment since July 6 after an engineering team from the UK arrived in Thiruvananthapuram. The 14-member engineering team, which has been here for safety checks and repairs, 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,'' sources said.
Airport sources said the parking fee for the jet fight is being calculated as per the existing norms. '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. Air India will fix the fee for using their Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport,' said the official.
The F-35B from the Royal Navy's aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales made the landing in Thiruvananthapuram on June 14 when it was undertaking a routine flight outside the Indian air defence identification zone, which is a designated area of airspace extending beyond a country's sovereign territory. Thiruvananthapuram was designated as the emergency recovery airfield, a location where aircraft can land in the event of an in-flight emergency.
Subsequently, the integrated air command and control system, a central command and control system that enables the Indian Air Force to monitor and manage air operations, detected the British fighter jet and authorised the aircraft to land after it had been diverted due to an emergency.
Three weeks later, the UK engineering team arrived after their government accepted the offer of a space in the MRO facility. The UK High commission has earlier stated that the UK remains grateful for the support and collaboration of the Indian authorities and airport teams.
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