TIRUCHY: A special team of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) from Delhi arrived at Tiruchy International Airport on Saturday to inspect the condition of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) that got damaged after the Air India flight bound for Dubai scraped past the outer wall of the airport.
The Air India Express aircraft which took off to Dubai on Friday damaged the five antennas, monitor and control unit of the ILS. Currently, the airport is using the alternative navigation systems and operations are going on without any issues.
Airport officials also inspected the accident spot with sources saying that the team will stay in Tiruchy till Monday.
“We have the alternative systems in place for managing the operations. The accident has not affected our operation and ILS instruments would get repaired in a month,” the sources added. “It was an accident and similar accidents can happen anywhere. Therefore, there is no point in getting frightened about it,” said V Karthik, a Singapore-bound passenger who arrived at the airport.
Meanwhile, the authorities made some temporary repair work at the damaged boundary wall of the airport. The spot has become an attraction zone with people taking selfies at the site.
“The videos of the accident spot has already gone viral on social media platforms. We thought it would be interesting to take a picture at the accident spot,” said R Vivek, a city resident. Yet, the nearby residents are not so curious.
“After that incident, I was not able to have a sleep peacefully. Whenever I hear a small noise, I would go out to make sure that we are safe,” said R Xavier, who lives in a thatched house near to the airport.
Officials dismissed these fears and confirmed that there is no need for unnecessary panic. “It was an accident and we are already taking measures for ensuring safety,” they assured.