"I don't want to leave" - India's hilarious response to HMS Prince of Wales' broken F-35 jet stuck in airport
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An Indian tourism board has made an advert making fun of a broken fighter jet still stuck at an airport in Kerala.
The F-35B, assigned to HMS Prince of Wales and the UK Carrier Strike Group, was forced to land at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on June 14. Monsoon conditions led to pilots conducting an emergency landing.
Although the jet landed safely, crews have been stuck in Kerala for over two weeks. “Engineering issues” have plagued the £88m aircraft. Indian new outlets have reported this is a hydraulics problem, but this was not confirmed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Kerala’s tourism board has used this opportunity to mock the incident while promoting the city.
A designer created a five-star Google review for the destination from “UK F-35B”. The caption said: “Kerala is such an amazing place. I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend.”
Fighter jet stranded
The F-35B remains at the airport waiting to be fixed, unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) previously said engineers on the 65,000 tonne flagship assessed the F-35 after arriving on a Merlin helicopter.
It was decided that a British-based engineering team was needed to fix it. No time forecasts have been given for when it will be repaired, or when it will be available for deployment.
The fighter jet is currently in Bay 4 at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, an area reserved for VIPs, in an effort to not impact other aircraft and flights. Guards are regularly stationed around the aircraft. Reports from India said British officials declined to move her to the hangar for security reasons, but The News understands this is untrue.
The MoD confirmed the F-35 will be moved to a space in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility hangar once specialist equipment and UK engineering teams arrive. It remains possible that the UK could be billed for the time the F-35 jet has spent in Kerala.
An MoD spokesperson said: “We are working to repair the UK F-35B at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport as quickly as possible. We thank the Indian Authorities for their continued support.”