Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Passengers at their wits' end

Staff Reporter

Officials' `indifference' to problems irks them

WHAT NEXT?: Two Amsterdam-bound passengers stranded at the airport in the city on Saturday. — Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

VISAKHAPATNAM: Passengers of Paramount Airways flight that overshot the runway and came to a halt a few seconds after hitting the ground have had a nightmarish experience in the city on Thursday.

Dr. Madhav Moga, who was scheduled to fly by the same aircraft from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad, felt that passenger convenience and safety was not of paramount importance to the airline. He was of the view that train journey was safer.

"I was waiting for the arrival of the flight when I watched it landing in the middle of the runway instead of landing at one end." He was, however, happy that all passengers were safe. "Recently, I had to travel from Chennai to Visakhapatnam and the airline cancelled its service at the eleventh hour," he charged. Raghupathi, who came to receive his son coming by the Chennai flight, was seen fuming at officials for their "indifference" towards the problems of passengers. "They have simply displayed the flight numbers and mentioned against them `delayed'. They can give the possible time of arrival or announce their cancellation," he said.

Paula from the Netherlands and her family who had come to attend a wedding reception were stranded at the airport. Passengers made a beeline to the ticket counters of various airlines to cancel them tickets due to uncertainty over the operation of flights.

Help from INS Dega

Meanwhile, an official release from the Eastern Naval Command, which has control over the airport, said that an Embraer aircraft of Paramount Airways got stuck in the Soft Ground Arrester (SGA) at the end of the runway. There was no casualty and all the 62 passengers and crew were evacuated safely. The safety services from INS Dega reached the spot immediately and provided necessary assistance. The SGA at the end of the runway brought the 22-ton aircraft to a complete halt. Boeing aircraft operations from INS Dega airfield were temporarily suspended. Helicopters and other smaller aircraft would continue to operate normally. The removal of the aircraft from the SGA commenced late in the evening and normal aircraft operations were expected to resume by Sunday, the release added.

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