Oil PSUs strike hits air travelers

New Delhi: The strike by oil PSU workers left a number of air travelers grounded at IGI on Wednesday evening for anywhere upto a couple of hours. Fueling of planes went on normally until 4 pm, but airlines later reported a sudden slowdown, leading to some flights getting delayed by up to two hours. Air India (domestic) had to infact serve dinner on ground as it had completed boarding for three flights that then got delayed, waiting for fuel for almost two hours.
Airlines fear that the situation might get worse from Thursday if the strike by lower and medium-level workers gathers steam as fuelling, especially at smaller airports, will suffer. The aviation ministry said it is watching the situation closely and could resort to emergency procedures like calling in other agencies to do the work of striking employees, if need be.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, sources said Delhi Airport witnessed a shortage of fuel tankers. "While a majority of parking stands at IGI have underground fuel pipes, planes at some stands have to be fuelled by tankers. After 4 pm, there was a sudden shortage of tankers, possibly due to drivers joining the stir. This led to delay for several flights as fuelling became slower," said sources. Senior officers of oil PSUs were seen running around frantically to ensure minimum impact of the strike by their juniors.
About six planes of AI (domestic) were among the flights delayed. Half of them had completed boarding. To minimise passenger inconvenience, the airline then served dinner on ground itself.
08/01/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2009