Cambodian jet abandoned in Vietnam for over a year

[June 12, 2008]  HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A Cambodian commercial jet has been sitting at a Vietnamese airport for more than a year after being grounded for a technical problem and abandoned, an official said Wednesday.

The Royal Khmer Airlines plane has been parked on the tarmac at Hanoi's international airport since early May 2007, said Vo Huy Cuong, head of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration's Air Transportation Department.

The plane was abandoned only a month after Royal Khmer Airlines received its license to operate flights between the Cambodian city of Siem Riep, home to the world famous Angkor Wat temples, and Hanoi.

The Boeing 727 had operated only a few flights when it was grounded, Cuong said.

Cambodian aviation authorities removed the 30-year-old plane from its registration in August, he said.

Airline officials have promised Vietnamese authorities they will fix the problem and pay the parking fees, Cuong said.

He said this was the first time Vietnamese aviation officials had been faced with an abandoned aircraft.

[Associated Press]

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