NEW DELHI: Delay of an Air India flight ferrying Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju has led to the suspension of three airline staff. A pilot of the flight was also served a warning for not turning up at the airport on time, thereby causing delay.
Newly-appointed Air India CMD held a meeting with senior officials to ascertain the reason for the flight’s delay.
The incident took place on Wednesday morning when Delhi-Vijaywada A1 459 flight carrying around 125 passengers did not take off on its scheduled time at 6 am. The flight was delayed for more than an hour. The minister, who was in business class, faced an angry crowd who demanded to know why the flight was not taking off. Sources said that some passengers surrounded the minister and inquired about the reason for the delay. Raju then called senior officials of the airline, including Kharola.
Air India sources said that the delay was caused mainly because of co-ordination issues. The meeting called by Kharola was attended by all top officials of the airline, including director of operations and scheduling. Sources said that the flight was delayed because of poor visibility, which was not communicated to the ground staff, who then started the boarding process on time. The pilot was also stopped at the security checkpoint because he reached the airport 15 minutes late.
The incident came days after Kharola took charge as CMD of the disinvestment-bound airline. “Three officials have been suspended and a warning letter has been issued to the captain for reporting late by 15 minutes,” an Air India spokesperson said.