‘Sorry state of affairs’: Shashi Tharoor targets Centre on flight disruptions
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday questioned the government’s preparedness to ensure airlines have sufficiently trained pilots to land planes on CAT III-B compliant runways at Delhi airport that enable continuance of flight operations even during visibility as low as 50 metres due to fog conditions. He pointed out the ordeal of passengers amid flight delays for up to 12 hours, leading them to eat meals on the tarmac, in the background of the “sorry state of affairs of India’s aviation sector”.
Citing several media reports, Tharoor criticised the Union aviation ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not being able to upgrade the CAT III-B to the CAT III-C category, which would allow pilots to land flights even at zero visibility. He also targeted the government for failing to ensure pilots flying to Delhi were trained to land on CAT III-B runways.
“All the way back in 2008, the UPA government could ensure a CAT III-B runway. 16 years have passed since then, with 10 years under the present government. Still, they have yet to even plan a single CAT III-C runway,” the Congress MP wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in a series of posts.
According to the Delhi Airport Flight Information Display System, operations of around 120 flights, including domestic and international, were affected due to fog.
“Even worse, a crane from some other construction work was blocking the operation of CAT III-B on one runway, even after repairs were complete. Delhi Airport flagged this over 10 days ago, on Jan 5th, but no action was taken,” he said, raising the issue.
Several incidents of passengers being stranded for long hours are reported as the national capital is shrouded by dense fog. Large-scale flight disruptions are causing incidents that lead passengers to take unprecedented steps to hit a pilot. Visuals had also emerged, showing people sitting in groups and eating meals on the tarmac next to an aircraft after facing a nearly 12-hour delay in flight.
Tharoor pointed out that the DGCA has failed to enforce basic passenger rights, such as providing food and drink and free accommodations based on the duration of flight delays. He also cited the Civil Aviation Requirement rules, which have laid out the passenger rights on the matter, and said the airlines have “openly flouted” these norms.
“For years, airlines have violated rules – passengers with tickets denied boarding, compensation not provided after delays, etc. DGCA ‘hauls them up’ for publicity, but either takes no action or imposes fines of token amounts,” he said.
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