Owner sought for abandoned 'ghost plane' at Madrid-Barajas Airport

A "ghost plane" abandoned at Madrid's main airport for years will be auctioned to the public should an owner fail to come forward.

The MD-87 - a mid-range, commercial aircraft capable of carrying up to 130 passengers - was previously owned by Iberia, Spain's flag carrier, but has since belonged to two different companies that have gone bust, leaving the plane in a "state of abandonment" at Madrid-Barajas Airport for as long as nine years.

According to Planespotters.net, the jet - registered as EC-KRV and of a model no longer in production - was bought new by Iberia in 1990 before being sold in 2008 to Pronair, a charter airline that flew regularly to China but ceased operations in 2009, before moving to the fleet of Saicus Air, a cargo airline in 2009. Saicus Air called it a day in 2010.

Officials at the Madrid airport, the sixth busiest in Europe, were said to have been flummoxed by the presence of the MD-87, which has been sitting untouched on its busy tarmac for years with its engines sealed off. It could be worth as much as $A3.6 million, according to equivalent aircraft for sale.

A notice released by Elena Mayoral Corcuera, director of the airport, earlier this month said the plane was in an "obvious state of abandonment" and that, in accordance with aviation law, three requests for an owner to come forward will be issued in three consecutive months. If a year then passes without a claim, the plane will be put up to auction, with proceeds going to the state, minus the accumulated parking fees.

The airport has not commented on the potential ownership of the jet, but information from Planespotters.net shows that the aircraft was "stored" at Madrid airport on December 6, 2010, while under the ownership of Saicus Air.

The Madrid-based cargo business founded in 2008 was born from the ashes of another cargo airline based in Mallorca called Flyant. After ceasing operations it was bought for the nominal amount of one euro by logistics group New Iberital and renamed Saicus Air.

The airline continued cargo services but in 2010 attempted to launch passenger services - at the centre of which was the MD-87. Saicus said in November 2010 that it would run twice-weekly services between Madrid and Guinea Bissau, on the west coast of Africa, but it never did, filing for bankruptcy in December. The plane is believed to have been untouched since.