Lunch break buzz threatens to muffle MDLR drone

Jamshedpur: Not turbulent clime or runway hurdles, it’s seemingly a lunch hour fiat that is threatening to scuttle MDLR’s flight plan, prompting the low-cost private airline to mull retreat from the steel city.
According to airline officials, the authorities of Sonari have issued a Notam (notice to airmen) to MDLR, asking it to reschedule its flight time to enable airport employees to take a lunch break from 1pm to 1.30pm. Talking to The Telegraph from Gurgaon, MDLR’s chief executive officer-cum-executive director Koustav Dhar said: “This is perhaps the first time in the history of the country’s aviation industry that a scheduled airline has been asked to halt operations to allow a lunch break..”
Officials of Tata Steel aviation department, which owns Sonari airport, confirmed the Notam, but said that it did not mention any break. “Rescheduling flights is routine. Depending on various factors, the air traffic controller can ask an airline to reschedule,” an official said, requesting anonymity. An AAI official at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi, agreed. He said the ATC tower at Jamshedpur remained open from 8am to 5pm and was never left unmanned. “The tower cannot be left unmanned for a second, let alone a break.”
The MDLR had launched its services between the city and the state and national capitals on April 15 this year.
05/09/09 Antara Bose/The Telegraph

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Categories: Airports Sep 2009, MDLR Sep 2009