While the political fallout of the hue and cry over a delay in landing of West Bengal chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's plane on November 30 is yet to be seen, the whole controversy has cost six pilots of three different airliners their jobs.
Six pilots — two each from IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India — were suspended on Tuesday by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as they had reported running low on fuel while landing in West Bengal last Wednesday, reports The Times of India.
The government had last week ordered an inquiry after the landing of flight with Mamata (and 173 other passengers on board) was delayed by 13 minutes as two other flights were also low on fuel at the same time.
The issue of fuel shortage and alleged denial of emergency landing was turned into a political controversy by Banerjee’s party. The issue echoed in Parliament where TMC MPs alleged threat to her life while the Centre asserted no one was in danger.
Aviation regulator DGCA ordered an inquiry into the incidents of as many as three flights, including one carrying Banerjee, reporting low fuel yesterday at the same time.The government had last week ordered an inquiry after the landing of flight with Mamata (and 173 other passengers on board) was delayed by 13 minutes as two other flights were also low on fuel at the same time.
The regulator issued a ‘strict’ warning to airlines to not scrimp on fuel in the winter season when fog causes delays and flights have to divert.
The DGCA has de-rostered (meaning grounded) the pilots and sought their corrective training, an AI spokesperson told Times of India.
However, airlines are unhappy with the move. They have said their pilots were running low on “hovering fuel” for Kolkata, which meant their fuels were reaching a point where they would have had to proceed to Bhubaneswar, the alternative airport.
The confusion, according to IndiGo, had arisen due to a communication gap between its pilots and the Kolkata air traffic control (ATC).
