Air India sells abandoned 43-year-old Boeing 737-200 it forgot it owned
November 24, 2025
After 12 years of sitting abandoned at Kolkata Airport in India, a 43-year-old Boeing 737-200 has been sold by Air India, which had forgotten it owned the plane.
This bizarre story has its origins back in 1982, when the 737 (registered as VT-EHH and with construction number 22863) was delivered factory-fresh from Boeing in Seattle to state-owned Air India’s domestic subsidiary, Indian Airlines.
Air India’s forgotten Boeing 737
The aircraft flew on routes within India for that carrier until 1998, when it was leased to another Indian airline, Alliance Airlines, for whom it operated for nine years.
In early 2007, with that lease period ending, the aircraft returned to Indian Airlines and was converted into a freighter. That carrier operated it before Indian Airlines was merged into Air India in late 2007.
From that point, the aircraft was listed as owned by Air India and was dedicated to operating under a contract between Air India and India Post. It flew mail flights under this contract until August 2012, when it was parked at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU).
It would appear that the aircraft has not flown since this date.
VT-EHH becomes forgotten at Kolkata
The aircraft was parked at Kolkata along with its sistership VT-EGG for many years. However, that second aircraft was removed from the site in 2019. Since then, VT-EHH has sat abandoned in a remote corner of the airport, forgotten about by its owner – until recently.
Last week @airindia completed the sale and transfer of this B737-200 (VT-EHH) that had been grounded at CCU since 2012.
— Trinidade Gois (@flyingTrini) November 21, 2025
Delivered to Indian Airlines (IC) in 1982, then on to "Alliance Air", until it was converted into a freighter and flew with "India Post" titles.
My 2019 photo. pic.twitter.com/Zmqx13QORo
Earlier this year, the authorities at Kolkata Airport contacted Air India to request the removal of the aircraft. This request caused some serious head-scratching at the carrier, as it seemed unaware that it still held the title to the plane.
Following some investigations at the airline, the real story behind VT-EHH transpired.
Air India investigation reveals ownership
In 2012, when the plan was parked in a remote parking area at Kolkata Airport, remarkably, it was simply forgotten about by its owner and was left neglected.
Then, in 2022, when the privately-owned Tata Group purchased Air India, the plane failed to make it onto an official list of assets owned by the carrier, and Tata Group remained unaware of its existence.
The transaction was completed without Tata Group knowing it owned the 737. It only became aware of this when the airport contacted the airline to request its removal.
For many of us they were our childhood memories !
— Dipalay Dey (@dipalay) July 30, 2018
Once the backbone of Indian Airlines jet engine era frm 1970s – late 2000s : #Boeing737-200 VT-EHH & VT-EGG of Indian Airlines later operated fr Alliance Air & Air India Cargo now lying as a discarded piece of metal in #Kolkata pic.twitter.com/V7wzsjR7wN
As reported by The Telegraph Online, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson recently relayed the bizarre story of VT-EHH to staff via an internal memo –
“Though disposal of an old aircraft is not unusual, this one is – for it’s an aircraft that we didn’t even know we owned until recently!” he wrote.
“Many years before privatisation, this aircraft had been decommissioned, operating for India Post and was omitted from many documents.”
“Over time, it was lost from memory and only came to light when our friends at Kolkata Airport informed us of its presence in a (very) remote parking bay and asked us to remove it! After verifying that it was indeed ours, we have now done so – and in so doing removed another old cobweb from our closet!” he added.
Although Wilson’s statement reveals that the aircraft has now been removed, he gives no further details of its fate or its current whereabouts.
The start of a new career for VT-EHH
With the aircraft being almost 43.3 years old at the time of writing and having not flown and been abandoned for over 12 years, there can be little doubt that the aircraft will never fly again.
It is also unlikely that, given its condition, it would have sold for a huge amount. It is also worth noting that any funds raised from its sale would have likely gone towards the settlement of 12 years of accrued parking fees at Kolkata Airport.
🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
— kayvan sabouri (@KayvanSabouri) November 24, 2025
🚨 Imagine losing track of an entire Boeing 737-200 plane for over a decade!
Air India just "rediscovered" VT-EHH, a 43-year-old jet abandoned at Kolkata Airport since 2012. It vanished from records.. no depreciation, insurance, or maintenance logs.… pic.twitter.com/9IHeQPCc82
Aviation database ch-aviation lists the current status of VT-EHH as ‘on display in India as a restaurant’, although further research fails to disclose its new location.
Many decommissioned civil aircraft have found new lives as restaurants, holiday accommodation, and tourist attractions, among other uses, worldwide, as well as in India itself.
Sistership VT-EGG did become a restaurant in 2019 and can still be seen as such in Khatushyamji, Rajasthan. Another former Air India plane, an Airbus A320, is also a restaurant called ‘Hawai Adda’ and is located in Ludhiana, Punjab, while another (an Airbus A310) is called ‘Runway 1 Restaurant’ and is located on a site alongside the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, also in India.
Featured image: icholakov / stock.adobe.com
