Daijiworld News Network - Mangalore (MB)
Mangalore, Jun 24: Although it is not uncommon to see flights being diverted from Bajpe airport here to Bangalore or elsewhere during rains for reason of poor visibility, Friday's experience will perhaps be long remembered by passengers, airport officialsa and airline staff.
Speaking to Daijiworld, airport director M R Vasudeva said only two flights could land in the airport on Friday.
The special IAF Boeing carrying the prime minister and his entourage besides Veerappa Moily, scheduled to land around 11-30 am circled a few times around the airport but could not make a landing. Airline sources said that while for VIP landings a minimum visibility of 2.5 kms was a must, the visibility at the airport could have been hardly 1,000 metres.
Earlier, the special Falcon aircraft carrying union petroluem and gas minister Murli Deora and petroleum secretary Srinivasan was to land around 8-40 am but could not because of poor visibility cause by rain. The aircraft was diverted back to Mumbai at 8-36 am.
The Jet Airways flight from Bangalore could land at 10-30 am. It carried chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, dyCM Yediyurappa and union surface transport minister K H Muniyappa. They arrived to receive the PM and accompany him to Permude for the petrochemical complex foundation stone-laying. But when they observed that the PM's plane could not land, they decided to return to Bangalore since they had to be at a PM's function in the state capital.
However, the only next flight was Air Deccan, which, arriving from Bangalore could land. Around 1 pm, it took off for Bangalore with Kumaraswamy, Yadiyurappa and Muniyappa on board.
Around 1-10 pm, PM Manmohan Singh's escort helicopter, an IAF Pawan Hans, tried to land at Bajpe. But owing to unfavourable weather conditions, it could not land and had to fly to Goa.
In the evening, a Kingfisher flight made an effort to land, but in vain. It carried supercop Kiran Bedi IPS, who was to attend a function in the city on Saturday. She too had to fly back in disappointment.
Bedi was to address the mediapersons in Hotel Moti Mahal at 7 pm on Friday. So the media community too was disappointed. All her programmes in the city on Friday and Saturday have been postponed.
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