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Low visibility at IGI: Chavan misses appointment with PM
Low visibility conditions at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport hindered VIP movements to and fro from Delhi on December 30. An all-party delegation, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, missed its appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as none of the members could land in Delhi due to intense fog. Chavan had left Mumbai at 8 am by the eight-seater Government plane and was slated to land in Delhi at around 10 am. However, the plane was diverted to Jaipur due to fog. “Chavan reached Delhi in the afternoon and has sought an appointment with the PM for December 31.
All leaders took different flights to reach Delhi but landing was not possible due to fog and hence all flights were diverted to other airports, the sources said.
Another group of MPs traveling on Air India flight number 409 were left in lurch as their flight could not take off on the scheduled time. A group of six to seven MPs from Bihar had an acrimonious session with the AI management as well as staff. The airline staff appeased them after a lot of deliberations. The MPs were upset as they were not informed in advance about the delay. Their flight finally took off at 2 pm, three hours after the scheduled departure, airport sources said.
The airline, however, said that flight disruptions due to weather conditions are beyond its control. An Air India spokesperson said, “A crisis situation occurred at Delhi Airport on the day as there were no flight operations from 4 am to 11 am in the morning. The MPs could not be informed in advance due to sudden fog conditions, but the airline went a step ahead to provide them all the necessary arrangements. The MPs just wanted to attract attention by creating hue and cry over the issue.”
Low visibility conditions at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport hindered VIP movements to and fro from Delhi on December 30. An all-party delegation, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, missed its appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as none of the members could land in Delhi due to intense fog. Chavan had left Mumbai at 8 am by the eight-seater Government plane and was slated to land in Delhi at around 10 am. However, the plane was diverted to Jaipur due to fog. “Chavan reached Delhi in the afternoon and has sought an appointment with the PM for December 31.
All leaders took different flights to reach Delhi but landing was not possible due to fog and hence all flights were diverted to other airports, the sources said.
Another group of MPs traveling on Air India flight number 409 were left in lurch as their flight could not take off on the scheduled time. A group of six to seven MPs from Bihar had an acrimonious session with the AI management as well as staff. The airline staff appeased them after a lot of deliberations. The MPs were upset as they were not informed in advance about the delay. Their flight finally took off at 2 pm, three hours after the scheduled departure, airport sources said.
The airline, however, said that flight disruptions due to weather conditions are beyond its control. An Air India spokesperson said, “A crisis situation occurred at Delhi Airport on the day as there were no flight operations from 4 am to 11 am in the morning. The MPs could not be informed in advance due to sudden fog conditions, but the airline went a step ahead to provide them all the necessary arrangements. The MPs just wanted to attract attention by creating hue and cry over the issue.”
