Latest news with #BritishHighCommission
CTV News
22-07-2025
- CTV News
British F-35 fighter jet stranded in India for over a month takes off after inspiring memes
A British F-35B fighter jet, which has been stranded since June 14, 2025 is seen at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, in the southern state of Kerala, India, on June 26, 2025. (AP Photo) NEW DELHI — A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for more than a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, took off Tuesday after being repaired by a team of U.K. engineers, an Indian official said. The stealth fighter, one of the world's most advanced and costing around $115 million, was grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to technical snags. The aircraft had hydraulic issues and problems with its auxiliary power unit that have been fixed, said the Thiruvananthapuram official, who wasn't authorized to speak with the media and requested anonymity. The aircraft will fly to a British aircraft carrier in Darwin, Australia, the official said. The British High Commission and U.K.'s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea in June when it ran into bad weather and couldn't return to the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales. The aircraft diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and landed safely June 14. The stranded military aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, triggered A.I.-generated memes in India. A Kerala tourism department social media post showed the plane on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees with a fictitious five-star review: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.' The top official at the tourism department, K. Biju, said the post was in 'good humor.' 'It was our way to appreciate and thank the Brits who are the biggest inbound visitors to Kerala for tourism,' Biju said. Another cartoon posted on X showed the plane enjoying snacks with a group of locals against a scenic background. There was speculation in India that the aircraft could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane if repairs were unsuccesful. The U.K. Ministry of Defense dismissed the speculation in a statement. Rajesh Roy, The Associated Press
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
British jet stranded after technical issues finally leaves Indian airport
A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for more than a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, took off on Tuesday after being repaired by a team of UK engineers, an Indian official said. The stealth fighter, one of the world's most advanced and costing about £85 million, was grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to technical snags. The aircraft had hydraulic issues and problems with its auxiliary power unit that have been fixed, said the Thiruvananthapuram official, who was not authorised to speak with the media and requested anonymity. The aircraft will fly to a British aircraft carrier in Darwin, Australia, the official said. The British High Commission and UK's Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea in June when it ran into bad weather and could not return to the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales. The aircraft diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and landed safely June 14. The stranded military aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, triggered AI-generated memes in India. A Kerala tourism department social media post showed the plane on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees with a fictitious five-star review: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.' The top official at the tourism department, K Biju, said the post was in 'good humour'. 'It was our way to appreciate and thank the Brits who are the biggest inbound visitors to Kerala for tourism,' Mr Biju said. Another cartoon posted on X showed the plane enjoying snacks with a group of locals against a scenic background. There was speculation in India that the aircraft could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane if repairs were unsuccessful. The UK Ministry of Defence dismissed the speculation in a statement.
New York Times
22-07-2025
- New York Times
‘Bye, Bro': British Fighter Jet, Stranded in India, Finally Leaves for Home
A British F-35B fighter jet that was stranded at an airport in southern India for more than a month over mechanical issues, becoming a local celebrity in the process, is finally making its way home. British engineers had struggled for weeks to fix the aircraft, which was unable to return to an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea after a flight in mid-June because of bad weather. It was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the state of Kerala for what proved a lengthy stay. The British High Commission in New Delhi said in a statement that an engineering team deployed to fix the aircraft in early July had managed to repair it, 'allowing the aircraft to resume active service.' The advanced jet, worth more than $100 million, was on its way to Darwin, Australia, according to an official at the Kerala airport, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the jet. The official said a crew of 14 people worked to repair to the jet's hydraulic and auxiliary power systems. The crew was set to be picked up by a Royal Air Force aircraft on Wednesday to return to Britain. The jet was under heavy security during its time at the airport, which experts said was necessary to protect its highly sensitive technology. The state-of-the-art plane, made by Lockheed Martin in Texas, is also used by a number of Britain's allies, including the United States. Airport staff members were not allowed to be near the hangar where the jet was being repaired, the airport official said. As the jet sat idle at the airport, it drew attention from amused locals, including the region's tourism department. Indians poked fun at the plane with memes, including a fake travel review of Kerala from the jet and a spoof listing for the plane's sale on a classified site. As news spread of the plane's impending departure, locals were quick to chime in again. On social media, users posted messages like 'Bye, bro,' and 'Keep visiting.' One smitten user even made an appeal for the plane to stay, writing: 'Please don't go. We loved you standing on the airport. Feelings had developed.' Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting.
BreakingNews.ie
22-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
British jet stranded after technical issues finally leaves Indian airport
A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for more than a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, took off on Tuesday after being repaired by a team of UK engineers, an Indian official said. The stealth fighter, one of the world's most advanced and costing about £85 million, was grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to technical snags. Advertisement The aircraft had hydraulic issues and problems with its auxiliary power unit that have been fixed, said the Thiruvananthapuram official, who was not authorised to speak with the media and requested anonymity. The aircraft will fly to a British aircraft carrier in Darwin, Australia, the official said. The British High Commission and UK's Ministry of Defence did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea in June when it ran into bad weather and could not return to the Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales. Advertisement The aircraft diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and landed safely June 14. The stranded military aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, triggered AI-generated memes in India. A Kerala tourism department social media post showed the plane on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees with a fictitious five-star review: 'Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend.' The top official at the tourism department, K Biju, said the post was in 'good humour'. Advertisement 'It was our way to appreciate and thank the Brits who are the biggest inbound visitors to Kerala for tourism,' Mr Biju said. Another cartoon posted on X showed the plane enjoying snacks with a group of locals against a scenic background. There was speculation in India that the aircraft could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane if repairs were unsuccessful. The UK Ministry of Defence dismissed the speculation in a statement.
NDTV
22-07-2025
- General
- NDTV
F-35B Fighter Leaves Kerala Airport After Being Stranded For 5 Weeks
Thiruvananthapuram: The British Royal Navy's F-35B fighter jet, which had been stranded in Kerala for over a month after making an emergency landing, flew out of the Thiruvananthapuram airport this morning. The stealth jet had been grounded in Kerala due to a hydraulic fault that took an expert team from the UK to repair. The fighter received a green signal yesterday, allowing it to return to the skies after five weeks. Visuals this morning showed the aircraft taking off from the Thiruvananthapuram airport. "A UK F-35B aircraft, which landed following an emergency diversion on June 14, departed today from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. A UK engineering team, deployed since July 6, completed the repairs and safety checks, allowing the aircraft to resume active service," said a British High Commission spokesperson, expressing gratitude to Indian authorities and airport teams. The fifth-generation stealth fighter is part of the UK's HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, which has been operating in the Indo-Pacific and recently finished joint maritime exercises with the Indian Navy. The jet was flying from the UK to Australia on June 14 when it developed a snag and was forced to take a detour to Kerala. Facing low fuel levels and adverse weather, the pilot had opted for an emergency landing at the nearest airport. Indian Air Force came to the rescue of the troubled jet; they facilitated its landing in Thiruvananthapuram and provided logistical support. Over the next few weeks, UK officials made several efforts to take the fighter jet back to its home country. At one point, British technicians even considered transporting the jet in a C-17 Globemaster military transport aircraft. On July 6, the F-35B was towed to a hangar for repair. Special equipment also had to be flown in to move it to the hangar since India doesn't operate any F-35s. A massive team of 24 technical experts and crew members from the Royal Air Force arrived with equipment to repair the fighter jet. The jet incurred a hefty bill during its stay in India, including landing and daily parking charges. The F-35B was charged a daily parking fee of over Rs 26,000, which summed up to over Rs 9 lakh for its 35-day stay in Kerala, according to the Economic Times. The fighter jet's India stay also sparked massive curiosity among the locals and memes on social media. Kerala Tourism shared a photo of the aircraft with the caption, "Kerala, the destination you'll never want to leave." Designed by Lockheed Martin, the F-35B is among the world's most expensive fighter jet programmes in history. It has three variants - A, B, C. The B variant, used by the UK Royal Navy, is capable of short take-offs and vertical landings, which allows it to take off from aircraft carriers without catapult systems
