The stealth fighter, one of the world’s most advanced and costing around $115 million, was grounded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport due to technical snags.

A British F-35B took flight weeks after it was grounded with a mechanical hitch. Some locals who had embraced the jet were sad to see it go.

A state-of-the-art British fighter jet that has been stuck at an Indian airport for more than five weeks is set to fly out on Tuesday. The F-35B is due to be "pulled back from the hangar today and the departure is scheduled for Tuesday", an airport spokesman told the BBC. "We do not have any technical details," he added.