Marked by its short operating time and problems with engers, ITA or Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos certainly did not leave a lasting impression on the Brazilian public.
The company, which had not even completed six months of operations, saw its fleet, which had barely arrived, return to lessors due to lack of payment, resulting in the suspension of its operations by ANAC on December 17, 2021.
Speaking of aircraft, photos appear on social media indicating the first aircraft sent for scrapping, apparently, it is the PS-ITA, an Airbus A320-200 produced in 2005, but which was stored at Tucson airport, in the USA, since January 2022.
According to data from the website Planespotters.net, the aircraft belonged to Deucalion Aviation and was in Tucson, precisely to preserve the plane, as the location has desert characteristics and low humidity, ideal characteristics for the preservation of aircraft.
After a brief search of data on the old fleet, the aircraft PS-AAF, PS-SFC, PS-MGF, PS-SPJ, PS-TCS and PS-SIL are operating by other companies, leaving only PS-ITA, which until then had not found another operator.
The trajectory of PS-ITA:
Produced in 2005 (MSN:2395) and delivered in March of the same year, the aircraft had as its first operator Jetstar Asia from Singapore, remaining with the company until December 2012. Subsequently, the aircraft received the registration TC-JUG from Anadolujet of Turkey in April 2013, becoming part of Turkish Airlines with the same registration until October 2020, when it was returned to the lessor.
The plane, owned by Deucalion Aviation, was stored at Kansas City Airport (MCI) between March and July 2021 in search of a new operator, when it became part of Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos.
As soon as ITA operations were suspended, PS-ITA was parked at Galeão airport since December 17, heading to Tucson airport on January 19, 2022, from where it never left.
As it is an aircraft from almost 20 years ago, the lack of demand from new operators and resale to the secondary parts market must have been the most viable option for the ex-Itapemirim.
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