Rourkela-Bhubaneswar flight cancelled over poor visibility

ROURKELA: At least 62 passengers were left in lurch after Alliance Air flight from Rourkela to Bhubaneswar was cancelled due to poor visibility on Thursday.Similarly, the flight from Bhubaneswar to Rourkela could not reach its destination and landed at the VSS Airport in Jharsuguda.

The cancellations brought to fore the limitations in flight operations at Rourkela airport owing absence of Instrument Landing System (ILS). Irked over it, Rourkela chapter chairman of NIT-Rourkela Alumni Association (NITRAA) Bimal Bisi shot off an email to AAI chairman with copies marked to the Odisha Transport and Commerce secretary and Alliance Air CO. He said the airport at Rourkela neither has advanced weather monitoring mechanism nor night landing facility.

At least 62 passengers from Rourkela, many having pressing assignments were forced to return home while around 60 passengers from Bhubaneswar originally scheduled to travel to Rourkela were dropped at Jharsuguda airport by the Alliance Air flight.

Prof KK Khatua of the National Institute of Technology- Rourkela (NIT-R) said after waiting at the Bhubaneswar airport to board the Rourkela-bound Alliance Air flight he was told that the flight was cancelled over issue of poor visibility.

The flight dropped him and other passengers from Rourkela at Jharsuguda airport, around 130 km from the steel city, two hours later. Prof Khatua had to hire a four-wheeler for over Rs 3,000 to reach Rourkela.