The British F-35B fighter jet that has been grounded in Kerala since June 14 awaits arrival of experts from UK. As aviation engineers’ team from the UK prepares to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5 to repair the Lightning jet of Britain’s Royal Navy stranded for over 20 days, social media flooded with memes and jokes.
The aircraft made an emergency landing last month at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and is currently at a bay under close monitoring of a six-member team from the HMS Prince of Wales. Let’s have a look at flurry of memes and jokes viral on social media over the aircraft’s prolonged stay.
Social media reaction
Hilarious reactions to this situation emerged on social media that have gone viral. A user stated, “F-35B Nair got its PAN card. Now it’s time to link it with Aadhaar as per Govt. rules.”
Before being airlifted back to the United Kingdom, the fighter jet has become a full-blown meme icon holding its own ‘Aadhaar card’. Even Kerala Tourism joined the sport and stated, “Kerala, the destination you’ll never want to leave. Thank you, The Fauxy.” Attached to the post is a picture of the fighter jet with the caption, “Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend.”
Another user wrote, “F35 pilots connecting with the ATC.”
A third user joked, “Day 17 of UK F-35 in India” and attached a funny video clip. Bollywood punchlines and dubbed dialogue edits, have become the latest social media trend to tease the overstay of F-35.
A fourth comment read,“If that F-35 plane was parked in Gurgaon for this long, someone would have opened a restaurant inside it.” A fifth user quipped, “Trumps ego is hurt, F35 fiasco has emptied his order book.”
As per PTI report, a 40-member aviation team will arrive in Kerala on a special flight to address the issue. Worth over USD 110 million, the fighter jet is a part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK’s Royal Navy.
Initially, the team was scheduled to arrive on July 2 but one of the most advanced fighter aircraft globally couldn’t be repaired on-site and is now likely to be dismantled, CNN-News18 reported.