Malaysia tracks down owners of Boeing 747s left abandoned at the airport

Ever misplaced your Boeing 747-200F and couldn’t remember where you parked it?

In a strange turn of events, three gigantic cargo jets were left abandoned at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Malaysia.

Airport authorities, keen on clearing up the space, placed ads in Malaysia's The Star and Sin Chew Daily newspapers urging the owner to reclaim their planes.

The ad warns, "If the aircraft is not retrieved within 14 days of this notice, we may sell or dispose of the planes," it reads.

The notice includes images of the abandoned jets – two white Boeing 747-200Fs and one “off-white” variant.

It also mentions that any proceeds from the sale of the 747-200Fs would be used to cover expenses and outstanding debts.

Zainol Mohd Isa, general manager of Malaysia Airports, shared with Dinogo that the planes have been left at KLIA for over a year, abandoned at various times.

It remains unclear who is now accountable for the aircraft and any associated fees.

“They haven’t paid the parking fees yet – where should we send the invoice?” Isa remarked.

Storage space isn’t an issue

Several aviation databases list the Boeing aircraft – identified by their call signs TF-ARN, TF-ARH, TF-ARM – as registered to leasing company Air Atlanta Icelandic, although the company claims to have sold them in 2008.

Since then, it seems the planes have changed ownership multiple times.

Malaysia Airports asserts that it has the legal right to sell the Boeings under the country's civil aviation laws if the true owner doesn’t step forward.

“Publishing such a notice through an advertisement is a standard and reasonable step in debt recovery, especially when the company in question has ceased operations and is a foreign entity, and all attempts to locate a contact person have failed,” Malaysia Airports stated in a release.

“This is a standard procedure followed by airport authorities worldwide when dealing with such situations,”

Isa mentioned that there’s no issue with storage space at the airport, noting that the three Boeing jets are the only abandoned aircraft there at the moment.

“If you had an A380, we’d have space for it,” he quipped.

The abandoned planes aren’t the only potential aviation sales making waves in Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier that faced two major tragedies in 2014 with the disappearance of flight MH370 and the downing of MH17 over Ukraine, is reportedly considering selling or leasing its fleet of six A380s.