Who loses three 747-200Fs? Source: Staticflickr
Three massive Boeing 747-200F cargo jets have been abandoned at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia.
The airport authorities have resorted to placing adverts in Malaysia’s Star and Sin Chew Daily newspapers asking for the owner to remove them.
“If you fail to collect the aircraft within 14 days of the date of this notice, we reserve the right to sell or otherwise dispose of the aircraft,” the advert reads.
Two planes are white and the other is grey.
The advert said the funds raised from the sale of the 747-200Fs would pay expenses and debts.
Malaysia Airports general manager Zainol Mohd Isa said the aircraft had been at KLIA for more than a year and were abandoned at different times.
Officials do not know who owns them.
“They’ve yet to pay the parking fee. Where do we send the bill?” Isa asked.
Several aviation databases list the Boeings as belonging to leasing firm Air Atlanta Icelandic but it says they were sold in 2008.
The aircraft appear to have changed hands several times since then.
Malaysia Airports says it is entitled to sell the aircraft under civil aviation regulations if no owner comes forward.
“The giving of such notice by way of advertisement is a common and reasonable step in the process of debt recovery especially in cases where the company concerned has ceased operations and is a foreign entity whereby exhaustive steps undertaken to find a contact person have not been successful,” Malaysia Airports said.
“This step is also a common process undertaken by airport operators all over the world when faced with such a situation.”
The discarded aircraft are not the only potential aviation sales to make news in the federation.
Malaysia Airlines, the flag carrier, is reportedly looking to sell or lease its fleet of six A380s.
Qantas Airways says it has no plans to strengthen its ties with Malaysia Airlines, despite the fact that the struggling carrier signed a code-sharing deal last week with Emirates, a key Qantas partner.
Under the Emirates deal, Malaysia Airlines will axe flights between Kuala Lumpur, Paris and Amsterdam, leaving only London as a non-stop European destination. Passengers looking to fly elsewhere in Europe will have to change in Dubai.
In return, Emirates will offer Malaysia Airlines flights beyond Kuala Lumpur to other Asian destinations, seen as a growth market for Malaysia.
Emirates flies four times a day between Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, including one destined for Melbourne, as part of its Qantas agreement.
“We are always looking at opportunities with our code-share partners but there are no immediate plans to change our current relationship with Malaysia Airlines or fly into Kuala Lumpur at this stage,” said a Qantas spokesman.
Qantas has instead targeted Singapore and Hong Kong as its key Asian destinations.
