Comments
Flights equipped with air transport radio (ATR) can land without any safety concerns at the Goa's Dabolim airport. This was confirmed by the airport officials on Wednesday after four airlines were accused of violating the DGCA's notice to airmen (NOTAM) about not landing in Goa during certain hours when certain landing aids are switched off for repairs.
“ATR flights can land without navigational aids. Such flights are available only with the companies such as Kingfisher and Jet Airways. They have been using it from routes such as Hyderabad, Mangalore and Bangalore to fly to Goa. It will be improper to say that landings of such flights are a violation of regulations,” said an official at the Dabolim airport.
Jet Airways officials also added that the airline is operating both larger aircraft and ATRs to Goa. However, the larger aircraft are only being used during the relaxation time given for such flights at the Dabolim Airport.
Airlines deny wrongdoing
Kingfisher Airlines also clarified on Wednesday that it has not violated any safety norms. “Kingfisher Airlines would like to confirm that none of its aircraft landed after 3 p.m.. As a matter of fact, we had adjusted the schedule so that all arrivals occur well before 3 p.m. and, hence, were scheduled to even depart prior to 3 p.m.,” said the airlines in a statement.
The airline also clarified that ever since the NOTAM was put in force, its aircraft did not land when the landing aids at the Dabolim Airport runway were switched off.
It added that on April 11, there were three delays in departures from Goa due to ATC constraints. The delays forced the departures to go beyond 3 p.m. “It is also clarified that these departures out of Goa were not in violation of the relevant NOTAM or any safety related guidelines because requirement of PAPI / VASI & Glide Path is not visualised / required during normal take-off.”
The DGCA was planning on sending notices to Kingfisher, GoAir, Jet Lite and Jet Airways.
“Jet Airways will be in touch with the DGCA regarding norms for operating to Goa during specific timings,” said an official with the airline.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.