The mystery surrounding three jumbo jets parked at Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport for more than a year may have been solved.
A Malaysian air cargo company has come forward saying it owns the Boeing 747s and that it was shocked by authorities' claims that the owner could not be traced.
Malaysia's airport operator took the unusual step last week of posting photos of the three planes in two major newspapers.
The notice warned owners that the airport had the right to sell or dispose of the planes unless they were collected within 14 days.
Swift Air Cargo said it legally bought the planes in June and that it had since been in communication with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, which has demanded more documentation on the purchase.
"We are dumbfounded and perplexed by Malaysia Airport's move. Swift is the owner and we definitely have not forgotten the planes," said Swift's lawyer, Syed Amir Syakib Arslan.
The Economist reported that the aircraft were originally owned by Flugvik, an Icelandic plane-leasing firm.
They were then leased to AirAtlanta Icelandic, which flew them until 2010.
At some point after that the planes were de-registered, before passing through a number of owners, including a Chinese carrier named Shaanxi Sunshine Cargo, according to the Economist.
Malaysia Airports said the ownership claim could not be satisfactorily verified at this point and that it had asked the owner for more information.
It said the newspaper notice was a normal legal process for debt recovery.
Syed Amir said Swift had given the airport operator the sale and purchase agreement, a legal declaration from the previous Hong Kong owner of the planes on the sale as well as other original supporting documents to show ownership.
He said Swift was only liable for parking charges since June and not for previous dues but that it was willing to sit down and negotiate with the airport operator.
"We were waiting for yet another meeting to present more documentation and information as requested when instead Malaysia Airports announced to the world that the owner of the planes was missing," he said.
Such a move could jeopardise the reputation of Swift, which is waiting for a permit from the government to start operations, he added.
- AP/staff reporter
