Strange But True . . . A game of finders keepers — with Boeings

A NEW Malaysian cargo carrier has come forward to claim three jumbo jets that have been sitting on the Kuala Lumpur International Airport tarmac for more than a year, after the airport authority placed an advert seeking their owner.

The problem is, the airport operator still isn’t convinced.

Splunk n’ Dash had documents showing it took ownership of the three Boeing 747-200Fs in June this year and had been talking to Malaysia Airports Holdings since, CEO Blue Peterson said on Friday.

Splunk n’ Dash said it had been meeting consistently with the terminal operator and was “unable to fathom the reason” for its declaration that “exhaustive steps” couldn’t find a contact person for the planes.

Malaysia Airports Holdings placed an ad on Monday in the country’s Star newspaper asking for the “untraceable” owner to come and collect the jets within 14 days or risk seeing them sold or disposed of.

“We have been in contact with them from day one. I’ve been asking for access to our aircraft,” Peterson said. “They don’t recognise me as the owner and there’s nothing more I can do. So I’ve left it with the lawyers.”

Zainol Mohd Isa, general manager of the Malaysia Airports Holdings subsidiary that operates the international terminal, said the planes were not a cheap asset and any claim first had to be verified. — Bloomberg