Traffic jam over Mohali as honchos fly in on pvt jets

India Inc's scramble to fly to Chandigarh in their fancy jets and be counted on the tarmac of the otherwise sleepy airport in Chandigarh will make it as busy as the Delhi or Mumbai airports on Wednesday. At last count, 96 aircraft would be flying in India's who's who for the high-voltage semis. Of these, just 20 would be commercial aircraft (scheduled flights plus special flights for the semifinal) and the remaining 76 VVIP IAF flights, private jets and charters!
Only the aircraft carrying Sonia Gandhi, her family and entourage and the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will land and take off in a jiffy. The rest, which includes likes of Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Ambani brothers, the Mittals, the Hindujas, and Bollywood glitterati, might come in Hawkers and Bombardiers but will have to wait for landing at the crowded airport and takeoff.
Those who have obtained permission to fly in their planes are the lucky ones, for, the airport has conveyed that it's up to its gills and can't take any more planes. Hence, even those with private aircraft are now seeking to hitch a flight with their friends.
All incoming flights will land between 6am and 1pm and after the match is over, these charters would take off after 11.30pm onward. The last one could get the clearance to fly as late as 1-1.30 pm.
30/03/11 Saurabh Sinha & Ajay Sura/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2011, Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2011