KOCHI: The Cochin International Airport on Friday witnessed dramatic scenes after an Air India Express pilot refused to take off, after the flight was diverted to Kochi due to bad weather conditions at the Kozhikode airport.
The Dubai-Kozhikode flight was diverted after dense fog hampered visibility at Kozhikode in the morning.
“The pilot refused to fly out from here, saying the number of flying hours permitted for him for the day had exceeded. The incident prompted passengers to stage a protest at the airport,” said airport officials, adding that a total of four Kozhikode-bound flights were diverted to Kochi between 6 am and 7 am, due to poor visibility at Kozhikode. “Three Air India Express flights and one Air India flight - from Dubai, Sharjah and Muscat - landed here. While the three other flights left for Kozhikode later, pilot of the Dubai-Kozhikode flight refused to fly, citing the DGCA’s duty time rules,” said sources. “The three other flights left by 1 pm. Meanwhile, the 180-odd passengers who were de-boarded from the flight IX-350 staged a protest at the airport. Later, the flight took off around 2 pm after another pilot was arranged,” said said officials.