Bird-hit PM’s flight delayed by 2 mins

Kolkata: The departure of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Delhi-bound flight was delayed by two minutes on Sunday morning after the pilot spotted birds on the runway.
Airport sources said the delay would have been longer had it been any other flight. Inspection jeeps, waiting on the edge of the runway as part of the Prime Minister’s security, geared into action immediately after the air force pilot raised an alarm and the runway was safe for take-off within seconds.
Earlier in the morning, Singh’s Malda tour was cancelled because of dense fog in Purnea, Bihar. The Prime Minister’s aircraft was to land in Purnea, from where he was scheduled to fly to Malda in a helicopter. Singh had planned to visit the house of A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury, the late Congress MP from Malda.
Following the cancellation of the Malda tour, the Prime Minister’s departure for Delhi was scheduled for 9.25am.
Moments after the air force plane entered the primary runway through taxiway A, an alarmed pilot called the air traffic control, saying: “There is a bird concentration on the main runway.”
The flight was stopped and inspection jeeps waiting on the edge of the runway rushed in. Within seconds, the runway was cleared and the aircraft took off at 9.27am.
The bird menace — there have been quite a few birdhits at the airport — has been affecting the flight schedule for years.
08/12/08 The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Dec 2008, Safety Dec 2008