Mystery surrounds car with 'COVID 19' number plate parked at Adelaide Airport for months
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-13/car-with-number-plate-covid-19-parked-at-adelaide-airport/12448962
A car with the number plate "COVID 19" has perplexed Adelaide Airport staff, who say it has been parked there for months.
A photo of the grey BMW sedan was sent to ABC Radio Adelaide by airport worker Steven Spry, who said the vehicle has been left in the staff car park since before Australia's coronavirus lockdowns began.
The disease caused by coronavirus was first officially labelled "COVID–19" on February 11, and was declared a pandemic one month later.
Mr Spry said as far as colleagues could recall, the car had been there since "February or even earlier", and was definitely there from mid-March when most airport staff went on four weeks of forced leave.
He said the car had a cover over it which was blown off by windy weather in April, creating more intrigue about the car — and particularly its number plate.
He said staff had speculated about why such an expensive car would be left at the airport, parked in one of the spaces closest to the terminal.
"It's a high-end vehicle so it's going to have to be someone on a fair dollar to get a vehicle like that, but you'd think a family member would have gone to get it."
Staff are only meant to leave their vehicles in the car park for up to 48 hours, Mr Spry said.
In South Australia, custom number plates have to be approved by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.
It takes at least 10 days for a personalised number plate to go from purchase to being issued, South Australian Industry Minister David Pisoni told ABC Radio Adelaide.
The BMW in question is registered until September 26, 2020, according to the State Government's EzyReg website.
Registration can be taken out for either three or 12 months.
Custom number plate agreements are for 12, 24 or 36 months and are separate to registration.
There are no cars interstate with the registration "COVID 19", according to state government websites.
However, in NSW a Volvo car has the registration "COVID" and a Suzuki motorcycle in the Northern Territory has the same number plate.