AAI to sue UP Airways over deserted aircraft at Rajkot

Abandoned aircraft hampers expansion plans at Rajkot airport

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to sue UP Airways (formerly Roopali Uttar Pradesh Airways) for leaving an engine-less aircraft unattended at the Rajkot airport for close to six years.

The Authority seeks to recover around Rs 50 lakh from UP Airways as harbouring and parking charges for the aircraft. The dues are increasing by Rs 50,000 every month.

Officials of the AAI claim that the expansion project of the Rajkot airport (that connects Saurashtra with the rest of India) has been hampered because of the aircraft. The Authority has thus called for its removal from the airport premises.

The AAI is facing a tough time ensuring that petty thieves do not sneak inside the airport and take away parts of the abandoned aircraft.

Moreover, the aircraft is hindering normal activities at the airport.

"This has stood as a permanent headache and liability for Rajkot airport as the private company has not been showing any interest to take the aircraft out of the airport. We simply cannot let the aircraft lie for years and years, protecting it from thieves and other such obnoxious elements. Moreover, it has been putting an obstacle in our plans for expansion of the airport as well," said an AAI official in New Delhi.

Saying that several notices have been sent to UP Airways by the Authority to either bring back the engine of the aircraft, enabling it to fly back to wherever the airliners want to, or to take it off from the airport with the help of cranes etc, the AAI official said: "Finally we have decided to move to the Court against the private company for recovery of our money and also seeking Court's permission so that we can throw out the machine from here as it is a pure nuisance value for us."

Officials of the New Delhi-based UP Airways, which has another aircraft gathering dust at the New Delhi airport, are not reachable "" both for the AAI and the media.

Interestingly, UP Airways officials had taken out the engine of the aircraft in 2001 by paying Rs 5 lakh as parking fees to the AAI.

The matter also has been reported to the state civil aviations minister Anil Patel by the AAI and officials of the Rajkot airport. The state government has also written to the Union civil aviations ministry in this regard. However, the aircraft has not yet been moved.

The aircraft meanwhile has been gathering rust because of rain and the high salt content in the wind.