The combat jet made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on the night of July 14.
| Photo Credit: special arrangement
The maintenance works on the grounded F-35B fighter jet of the Royal Air Force, UK, has reportedly been completed at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport. The fifth-generation stealth aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin is expected to return to its base station in the UK by the early next week, subject to the clearance granted by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence.
According to sources, the jet requires the clearance of the Centre government to fly out of the country.
Though the British authorities have not officially communicated the details of the maintenance works they had carried out, it is reported that the auxiliary power unit of the aircraft developed some major snags, necessitating the service of an expert team. Initially, the crew had tried in vain to fix the glitches as soon as the combat jet made an emergency landing at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on the night of July 14.
Since then, the aircraft has remained grounded at bay number 4 of the domestic terminal. The aircraft was later towed to the hangar facility at the airport on July 6 after an expert team from the UK arrived here. It is now expected that the aircraft will be able to fly back by July 21 or 22.
Hefty parking fee
The British authorities have to pay a hefty amount of parking fees to the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The amount is fixed considering the size and weight of the aircraft, along with the number of days it stayed here and the amenities used by the crew during their stay at the airport.
It is estimated that the parking fee alone would be around ₹15,000-₹20,000 per day. The airport will receive the fee for the days the aircraft has been parked here since June 14, while the fee for using the hangar facility at the airport will be charged by AI Engineering Services Ltd., which owns the hangar and provides the maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility.
The equipment and engineers brought to Kerala will also be taken to the UK in a couple of days, according to sources.
Published – July 19, 2025 11:16 am IST
