Mangalore-Doha flight Take off trouble: Air India clarifies

Mangalore-Doha flight Take off trouble: Air India clarifies

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 9: Speculations and rumours began flying around following the unexpected delay in the Mangalore – Doha Air India flight take off at Mangalore International Airport; but the airport authorities rubbished these rumours by saying that the “operational reasons” were responsible for the delay. 

The Mangalore – Doha AI flight, which was scheduled to take off at 9:35 a.m., took off at 1:45 p.m. instead, causing a great deal of inconvenience to its passengers. The plane had arrived from Dubai early in the morning, but did not land on the Mangalore Airport runway owing to unfavorable weather conditions. Instead, it flew on to Calicut Airport and landed there. The plane was later flown back to Mangalore from Calicut, causing the delay. 

Chellam Prasad, the director of Air India Mangalore, said that the airport authorities did not permit the plane to land owing to unfavorable weather conditions, clarifying that the decision was taken by the airport authorities and not by AI. The plane was flown to Calicut and was later flown back to Mangalore, which caused the delay, she said. 

When asked about rumours of pilot unavailability, Prasad said that the pilot who had flown the aircraft from Dubai had to be relieved before landing at Mangalore in accordance with international standards regarding pilot fatigue. These standards require pilots to be given adequate rest after flying for a specific number of hours. In the meantime, another pilot had to be brought from Mumbai to fly the plane to Doha, she explained. 

Criticizing the media for the way it had reported the incident, Prasad requested the media to verify the facts from concerned authorities before making the report. She explained that Air India is the authority and facts should be cross checked  before they are disseminated to avoid rumours that might hurt the interests of the general public, especially after the major air crash of May 22.