New Delhi: Jammu was cut off aerially from the rest of the country on Friday, a day after Navratra got over and there was a huge rush of pilgrims flying in and out of the temple town.
The total number of Jammu-bound flyers stuck at airports across the country and those flying out of Jammu in the 16 flights that were to operate on Friday was estimated at 2,500 by aviation authorities.
Tests conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which manages air traffic control at this defence airfield, found that the load-bearing capacity of Jammu runway had deteriorated.
On Thursday, IAF had issued a notice to airmen (Notam), which meant airlines could not fly heavy planes like the Boeing 737s and Airbus A-320s to Jammu up to January 14, 2016.
Since these are the mainstay of domestic flight operations, none of the 16 flights by private airlines supposed to land in Jammu on Friday and then take off from there could operate. A GoAir aircraft took off from Delhi but was diverted to Srinagar. Only two Air India flights operated on old A-320s with a different landing gear inducted in late 1980s when the country had small and weak runways.
After the absolute chaos on Friday, airlines approached aviation secretary R N Choubey and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief M Sathiyavathy as lakhs of passengers are booked to fly to and from Jammu. Choubey took up the issue with defence authorities and IAF withdrew its Notam on Friday evening.
But, safety fears over Jammu, long known to be India's most unsafe runway along with Patna, have grown after the IAF warning.
24/10/15 Times of India
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The total number of Jammu-bound flyers stuck at airports across the country and those flying out of Jammu in the 16 flights that were to operate on Friday was estimated at 2,500 by aviation authorities.
Tests conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which manages air traffic control at this defence airfield, found that the load-bearing capacity of Jammu runway had deteriorated.
On Thursday, IAF had issued a notice to airmen (Notam), which meant airlines could not fly heavy planes like the Boeing 737s and Airbus A-320s to Jammu up to January 14, 2016.
Since these are the mainstay of domestic flight operations, none of the 16 flights by private airlines supposed to land in Jammu on Friday and then take off from there could operate. A GoAir aircraft took off from Delhi but was diverted to Srinagar. Only two Air India flights operated on old A-320s with a different landing gear inducted in late 1980s when the country had small and weak runways.
After the absolute chaos on Friday, airlines approached aviation secretary R N Choubey and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief M Sathiyavathy as lakhs of passengers are booked to fly to and from Jammu. Choubey took up the issue with defence authorities and IAF withdrew its Notam on Friday evening.
But, safety fears over Jammu, long known to be India's most unsafe runway along with Patna, have grown after the IAF warning.
24/10/15 Times of India
