Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
BBCA state-of-the-art British fighter jet that became a subject of jokes and memes after being stranded at an Indian airport for more than five weeks has finally left after repairs.
The F-35B is now airborne and on its way to Darwin in Australia, an airport spokesman told the BBC.
The jet first landed on 14 June at Thiruvananthapuram airport in the southern state of Kerala where it was diverted after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian Ocean. It then developed a technical snag.
Its prolonged presence on Indian soil sparked curiosity and raised questions about how such a modern aircraft could remain stranded in a foreign country for so long.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the British High Commission confirmed the aircraft’s departure. “A UK engineering team, deployed since 6 July completed the repairs and safety checks, allowing the aircraft to resume active service.”
The plane was part of the fleet of HMS Prince of Wales. Officials have not said why it was flying to Darwin, but it’s most likely because the Royal Navy’s flagship carrier is still in the region.
For the past few days, HMS Prince of Wales has been posting updates and photos on X (formerly Twitter) from the joint exercises it has been conducting off the coast of Australia.
After the plane was unable to return, engineers from the ship had visited it to fix it.
But as they were unable to repair it, the UK ministry of defence said a fortnight back that they had deployed a team of 14 engineers “to Thiruvananthapuram airport to assess and repair the F-35B aircraft”.
There had been speculation that if the technicians failed to repair the aircraft, it would have to be partially dismantled and carried out in a bigger cargo plane such as a C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft.
F-35Bs are highly advanced stealth jets, built by Lockheed Martin, and are prized for their short take-off and vertical landing capability. The case of the stranded $110m (£80m) jet was raised in the House of Commons.
Kerala TourismIn India, images of the “lonely F-35B”, parked on the tarmac and soaked by the Kerala monsoon rains, made it a subject of jokes and memes.
One viral post joked that the jet had been put up for sale at an online site at a hugely competitive price of $4m. The listing claimed the jet included features like “automatic parking, brand-new tyres, a new battery and an automatic gun to destroy traffic violators”.
One user on X said the jet deserved Indian citizenship as it had been in the country long enough, while another suggested that India should start charging rent and that the Kohinoor diamond would be the most appropriate payment.
Kerala government’s tourism department also joined in the fun with a post on X that said “Kerala, the destination you’ll never want to leave.”
The post included an AI-generated photograph of an F-35B standing on the runway with coconut palm trees in the background. The text joked that, like many visitors to the state famously dubbed ‘God’s Own Country’ in tourism brochures, the jet too seemed reluctant to leave its scenic surroundings.
On Tuesday, after it took off, X users posted messages saying “adios” to the jet as it left “after enjoying more than one month of holidays at God’s Own Country”.