Kolkata: The police officers of Bidhannagar Commissionerate sought an explanation from the airport officials at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on why Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s flight was held up in the air for nearly 10 minutes before landing on February 8.
A team of police officers met senior AAI officials and collected arrival and departure timings of all the flights between 4pm and 6pm on February 8 to ascertain whether it was only Mamata Banerjee’s flight which was held up or others in the line were also delayed due to ‘maintenance work on primary runway’.
The CM, who went on an official tour to Darjeeling, had boarded IndiGo flight no. 6E534 at 4.35pm from Bagdogra airport. The flight was supposed to land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 5.45pm but due to ‘maintenance work on primary runway’ it landed in Kolkata at 5.55pm, 10 minutes behind the scheduled arrival.
As soon as Banerjee came out of the airport at 6:20pm, she expressed her dismay. Later, at the secretariat, she said, “I don’t know what happened. The flight just kept hovering.”
Speaking to News18 over phone, a Deputy Director at Air Space and Air Traffic Management Directorate in New Delhi, said, “I have to look into the matter. But a wait if five-ten minutes is not considered a delay. There may be a genuine reason behind it. Why will someone unnecessarily hold up a flight mid-air?”
Reportedly, the Bidhannagar Commissionerate officers were told (by airport officials and IndiGo staffs) that ‘maintenance work was going on the primary runway’ and therefore, all the flights on that time slot were delayed for five to 10 minutes.
A senior Airport Authority of India (AAI) official said, “On Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, airport flight operation on primary runway is closed from 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm due to maintenance. On February 8 (the day CM was travelling from Bagdogra to Kolkata), the closing time was extended for a few hours as an inspection was being carried out by the officials of AAI on the primary runway. It is not an issue at all. I don’t know why some people are creating a fuss about it.”
When News18 tried to contact police officers on the issue, no one was available for a comment. While DGP Surajit Kar Purkayastha asked us to contact Bidhannagar commissioner Gyanwant Singh, the commissioner did not respond to texts or calls despite several attempts.
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