Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines today claimed that it had to operate three flights out of the Dabolim airport early this week during the restricted hours due to congestion at the airport and not in violation of the regulator's no-fly orders.
The clarification comes a day after the regulator, Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sought explanation from four operators including Kingfisher, for undertaking "blind landings" in violation of safety norms at the Navy operated airport that has banned flights during 9am to 1pm and 3pm to 7pm from April 4-30 due to runway repair.
The airlines that invited the wrath of the regulator are Kingfisher, GoAir, JetLite and Jet Airways, which together operated 8-10 flights daily to Goa in the past few days when the vital ground navigational aids were switched off.
"Kingfisher Airlines would like to confirm that none of its aircraft landed after 3pm. As a matter of fact, we had adjusted the schedule so that all its arrivals occur well before 3pm and hence were scheduled to even depart prior to 3pm. Three flights were delayed due to ATC/airport congestion and departed by 3:30pm," the airline said in a release.
"Despite our warnings to respect the curfew hours, some airlines have violated this directive. They will have to pay for it. We will take action. We are going to issue notices," DGCA chief EK Bharat Bhushan had told PTI yesterday.
13/04/11 Daily News & Analysis
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