PATNA: Flight operations at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport at Patna remained paralysed on the third consecutive day on Saturday as 10 outbound flights were cancelled and another six inbound flights were diverted due to foggy weather.
Patna airport director Rajendra Singh Lahauria informed that five out of the 10 cancelled flights were of IndiGo airlines, three of
Jet Airways and one each of
SpiceJet and GoAir.
IndiGo also announced cancellation of four of its flights from Patna airport on Sunday as well, including G8 902 (Patna- Bengaluru), G8 508 (Patna- Delhi), G8 342 (Patna- Kolkata) and G8 633 (Patna- Lucknow).
While five flights grounded at the airport on Friday due to poor visibility were allowed take- off from 12:30 in the afternoon on Saturday under low - visibility take- off procedures but landing of inbound flights could start only from around 2:30pm.
With frequent cancellation and hours of delay of flights, Patna airport has literally turned into a railway station or bus stand from past two days. Tens of hundreds of passengers are seen waiting at the "small" airport at any given point of time. Over 1000 passengers are seen inside the terminal at any given time, which has the capacity to accommodate only 600 people.
Consequently, another few hundred passengers are made to wait outside the terminal building for their flights. Several fliers including
Brajesh Kumar spent the entire Friday night at the airport after their flight got cancelled due to foggy weather.
"I had reached the airport at 2:30 on Friday afternoon to catch my flight, which was scheduled to depart at 7:20pm. However, the flight's cancellation was announced at around 10:00pm, following which I had to spend the entire night stay at the airport only," Brajesh said.
The airlines executives at the airport also face tough times in handling hundreds of fliers irked by cancellation and delay of flights. "Many passengers enter into heated arguments, while several others ask for lodging facilities in case of cancellation of their flights. However, the airlines are not required to pay for accommodation of passengers in case of cancellation due to bad weather. Passengers having bookings in connecting flights are more restless but we try to address issues of all passengers," said an executive of a private airlines.
Hundreds of fliers who had booked tickets in inbound flights to Patna were also left stranded at others airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru among others due to the disruption in air traffic. "My IndiGo flight from Delhi to Patna on Saturday evening was cancelled, following which I was told by the airlines that direct flights are not available to Patna for next three days. Consequently, I booked a ticket in the morning flight of the same airlines to Ranchi on Sunday. I would be paying extra for travelling to Patna from Ranchi by road, and I am also apprehsnive whether I would be able to be with my kids on New- Year's eve," Manish Gupta, a British High Commission official told TOI over phone from
Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
