[TRAVEL ★]
WHO ABANDONED THESE THREE JET AIRPLANES?
(P1) Don’t you hate it when you forget where you left your Boeing jet?
(P2) Someone ABANDONED not one, not two, but three of the MASSIVE CARGO jets at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Malaysia.
(P3) Airport officials took out ads in Malaysian newspapers asking for the owner to please come get their planes.
(P4) “If you fail to collect the aircraft within 14 days of the date of this notice, we reserve the right to sell or otherwise DISPOSE OF the aircraft,” the ad states.
(P5) The notice includes photos of the ORPHAN jets.
(P6) It adds that cash raised in the sale of the jets would be used to pay off expenses and debts for their UPKEEP.
(P7) Malaysia Airports general manager Zainol Mohd Isa said that the aircraft have been parked at KLIA for more than a year, having been abandoned at different times.
(P8) It’s not clear who now bears responsibility for the aircraft and any related charges.
(P9) “Whoever it is, they have not paid the parking fee — where do we send the bill?” Isa said.
(P10) Several aviation databases list the Boeing jets as belonging to Air Atlanta Icelandic, but that company says it sold them in 2008.
(P11) Since then, the aircraft appear to have CHANGED HANDS several times.
(P12) Malaysia Airports says it is ENTITLED to sell the Boeings under the country’s civil aviation regulations if no owner COMES FORWARD.
WORDS: 235
SOURCE: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/08/aviation/malaysia-aviation-airport-abandoned-aircraft/index.html
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- How could the three planes have arrived at the airport without officials knowing who is responsible for them? Don’t they keep records?
- What do you think will happen to the planes? Will the owner come forward?
- This is an example of “WEIRD news.” Do you enjoy such unusual stories?
- Do you like or dislike going to airports?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Dispose of
- Change hands
- Come forward
