Chaos marks celebrations for maiden visit of A380

New Delhi: Chaos and confusion marked the media blitz planned at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here Monday to celebrate the maiden landing of world's largest aircraft Airbus A380 to coincide with the 2nd anniversary of Kingfisher Airlines.
Despite sending out the requests days in advance and frequent reminders from the organisers of the event, many invited journalists, photojournalists and TV crew were denied entry to the venue, the Haj Terminal, for coverage.
Reason? The names of those invited did not correspond with the list handed over to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, whose officers declined entry despite several of the waiting journalists being accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
"By looking at the list over and over again, my name isn't going to crop up from the blue," a senior TV journalist on the aviation beat was heard complaining to the organisers. "Why don't you look at what next must be done!"
Calls to representatives of the agency handling the public relations work for the event evoked a standard response. "We'll get back to you."
The A380 had landed at the airport Sunday, following which it was taken to the Haj Terminal, where compatibility tests for the aircraft were planned with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Initially, there was confusion even over the venue of the celebrations -- it was originally scheduled at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the capital but was shifted to the Haj Terminal at the last moment.
08/05/07 IANS/Mangalorean.com

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Categories: Airports May 2007, New May 2007