Airport charges Rs 5 lakh for parking as Britain’s F-35B fighter jet takes off a month after emergency landing in Kerala

“The engineering team from the UK is still here, and is expected to return on a flight on Wednesday. The pilot of the fighter jet had reached Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday after the repair works were over. The airport has charged around Rs 5 lakh towards the cost of the parking and landing. The pilot had specially thanked the airport staff for offering all facilities. The fee for using the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport will be fixed by Air India as per the norms,” said the official.

UPDATE: Following completion of repairs and safety checks, the UK F-35B aircraft today departed from Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, resuming active service. We are grateful for all the support from the Indian authorities. 🇬🇧🤝🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/RAV8VFauET

— UK Defence in India🇬🇧🇮🇳 (@UKDefenceIndia) July 22, 2025

The fighter jet, from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, had made the emergency landing in Thiruvananthapuram on June 14 when it was undertaking a routine sortie outside the Indian air defence identification zone (a designated area of airspace extending beyond a country’s sovereign territory). Thiruvananthapuram was earmarked as the emergency recovery airfield for the flight, which means it can land there in the event of an in-flight emergency.

The integrated air command and control system — a central command and control system enabling the Indian Air Force to monitor and manage air operations — detected the British fighter jet and authorised the aircraft to land after it was diverted due to emergency.

On July 6, a 14-member engineering team from the UK had reached Thiruvananthapuram after their government accepted the offer of a space in the MRO facility in the airport. The engineering team is still camping in Thiruvananthapuram and will fly back on Wednesday.