India has decided to waive off the parking fees of Rs 9 lakh for the Royal Navy F-35B Lightning stealth fighter jet at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala for more than a month. As a gesture of goodwill between India and the UK, the parking fees have been waived off by the Indian authorities.
The fighter jet, valued at over 110 million USD, was forced to make an emergency landing on June 14, due to adverse weather and hydraulic system failure.
It was performing a routine operation around 100 miles off Kerala’s coast when it had to request India for an emergency landing. The aircraft, a part of the UK’s HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group, had made a distress call SQUAWK 7700 to request landing at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. It was kept under heavy security provided by the CISF.
The Indian Air Force’s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) helped for a seamless landing. For several days, the aircraft remained parked at Bay 4, reserved for VIP aircraft, at the airport. After the necessary repairs coordinated by Indian and UK engineers, the aircraft finally left India on July 22.
