Grounded for 18 Years: Valencia's Purple Plane Faces Uncertain Future
A Boeing 747, registered as EC-KRP, has been sitting idle at Manises Airport in Valencia for almost two decades. The aircraft was part of Pronair, an aviation venture founded by Isidoro Romero López, which attempted to build freight links between Spain, Germany, China, and other destinations. However, its expansion collided with the collapse of Spain's property bubble and the global financial crisis, leading to rising fuel prices, mounting debts, and wider financial problems that eventually brought Pronair down in 2009.
The EC-KRP has spent 6,483 days grounded since December 3, 2008. Built in July 1974, it is now 52 years old and powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines, with a listed maximum takeoff weight of roughly 343 tons. Its Spanish name, Arca de Torretallada, is far less familiar than the nickname it has acquired locally, the purple plane.
Aena, Spain's airport operator, could not simply tow away the aircraft due to legal proceedings and unresolved ownership claims. There were several attempts to break the deadlock, including a 2013 judicial auction that valued the aircraft at around $2.1 million, although no publicly documented removal followed. The latest process is still administrative, with no confirmed auction date or reserve price yet.
Rumors have swirled that the aircraft has accumulated an astonishing €200 million in parking fees alone, although neither Aena nor any official records appear to substantiate that extraordinary figure. The possibility also exists that the aircraft will not go straight to auction at all, as a change to Spanish law took effect in October 2025 allowing abandoned aircraft to be offered to qualifying aviation-related educational, cultural, or nonprofit organizations first.