In a remarkable case of corporate amnesia, Air India recently discovered it owned a Boeing 737 that had been sitting idle at Kolkata airport for over a decade. The 43-year-old aircraft, which had completely disappeared from the airline's records, was finally removed from the airport on November 14 after authorities alerted the airline to its existence.
The Forgotten Aircraft Emerges
The Boeing 737-200, registered as VT-EHH, had been parked at Kolkata airport since 2012. Incredibly, Air India had no knowledge the aircraft was still on its books until airport officials contacted them about the long-abandoned plane. The aircraft's removal marks the 14th abandoned aircraft cleared from Kolkata airport in the past five years.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson acknowledged the unusual oversight in an internal staff communication. "Disposal of an old aircraft is not unusual," Wilson wrote. "This one is — because we didn't even know we owned it."
An Aircraft With a Storied Past
The forgotten Boeing 737 has a rich history in Indian aviation. Records show the plane entered service with Indian Airlines in 1982 before being leased to Alliance Air in 1998. It returned to Indian Airlines in 2007 for cargo operations and was eventually transferred to Air India following the Indian Airlines-Air India merger.
The aircraft served its final days with India Post before being decommissioned in 2012. During the privatization process of Air India three years ago, the jet somehow vanished from the airline's institutional memory and accounting records.
Unique Disposal and Financial Implications
What makes this aircraft disposal particularly unusual is that it was the only one of ten defunct Air India aircraft sold with its Pratt & Whitney engines still attached. The other nine aircraft had been stripped of their engines before sale.
The oversight proved costly for Air India. Kolkata airport recovered nearly Rs 1 crore in parking charges from the airline for the thirteen years the aircraft occupied valuable apron space. Airport officials confirmed the newly vacated space will now be used for one of two new hangars planned at the site.
The aircraft has begun its final journey to Bengaluru, where it will serve as a training tool for maintenance engineers. This practical reuse contrasts with most other retired aircraft removed from Kolkata airport, which have typically been converted into themed restaurants by private buyers.
Among the fourteen cleared aircraft was a historic Dakota once flown by former Odisha chief minister Biju Patnaik during a 1947 rescue mission in Indonesia. That aircraft has since been restored and placed on display in Bhubaneswar.
Currently, only two defunct aircraft remain at Kolkata airport—both ATRs belonging to Alliance Air. The discovery and removal of the forgotten Boeing 737 highlight both the challenges of corporate transitions and the potential for valuable airport real estate recovery.
