The aircraft, belonging to the Continental Aviation Company in Pune, had developed a major technical snag on July 21, 1991, and since then it has been parked in a corner near the tarmac in the Nagpur airport.

"We have discussed plans to convert the aircraft into a restaurant and an educational-tourist spot with higher authorities of AAI. They have shown initial interest and things are taking shape," Controller of Babasaheb Ambedkar International airport, S N Borkar told PTI.

The aircraft was owned by Sam Verma, formerly based in the US. When contacted, Verma, who hails from Betul in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, claimed that he was not the owner but an advisor to Continental Aviation Company. The aircraft belonged to a US company Electra Tech and Continental had taken it on lease.

The AAI has dragged Continental to court for recovery of a whopping Rs 5 crore as parking charges. Moreover, Canara Bank [Get Quote] and Travels Finance Corporation which had funded the aviation company at the time of launch have also initiated legal proceedings, Borkar said.

Both financial institutions had approached the Bombay High Court which had directed the AAI to auction the grounded plane and pay dues to AAI (for parking), Canara bank and finance company.