Air India’s Last Boeing 747 Takes Final Flight from Mumbai Airport

A symbolic moment took place at Mumbai airport as Air India bid farewell to one of its last remaining Boeing 747 aircraft. The aircraft, named Agra, had been de-registered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in the previous year. Pilots of the Boeing 747 marked the occasion with a traditional ‘Wing Wave’ maneuver, a gesture reserved for retiring flights.

The Boeing 747 aircraft played a significant role in transporting top dignitaries such as the president, prime minister, and vice president, as per a report from PTI. Debasish Chakraverty, an aviation historian cited by Hindustan Times, highlighted that the aircraft, once registered as VT-EVA, underwent de-registration last year, post-retirement. The ‘Air India‘ branding was removed, and a temporary American registration, N940AS, was assigned for its final flight out of Mumbai.

In April 2022, the DGCA de-registered four Boeing 747 jumbo jets that had been inactive since February 2020. This move came soon after the Tata Group assumed control of Air India in January 2022. One of the Boeing 747s departed from Mumbai today, while another is scheduled for its final flight from India in the near future.

Air India has sold these Boeing 747 aircraft to foreign entities expected to repurpose them for cargo transportation, primarily as freighters for long-haul operations. The remaining two Boeing 747 planes will undergo disassembly in Mumbai, salvaging parts to prolong the lifespan of the aircraft and recycle components deemed no longer viable.

Commercial aircraft disassembly processes involve recycling roughly 800 to 1,000 parts, mainly comprising metal alloys and composite materials. Fortune Business Insights describes how these aircraft recycling centers dismantle non-metallic parts, extract major components, and sort metal alloy parts based on their composition for reuse or as scrap metal.