The Hindu : New Delhi News : Flight cancelled due to traffic congestion

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 20, 2007
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New Delhi

Flight cancelled due to traffic congestion

Staff Reporter

“Only one runway was operational”

NEW DELHI: A Kathmandu-bound Indian Airlines flight IC-813 had to be cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday reportedly because of a delay in take-off due to traffic congestion at Delhi airport on Wednesday.

According to an airline official, the flight was to leave Delhi at 1-40 p.m. but because only one runway was operational it caused traffic congestion and the flight had to be rescheduled as flights cannot land in Kathmandu after sunset. “Of the 70 passengers that the flight was carrying, 35 were local and the rest were accommodated in a hotel,” he added.

However, when contacted, an official at Delhi International Airport (Private) Limited said: “Only the primary runway was closed between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. which is routine.”

‘Near miss’ situation

A Goa-bound Indigo flight and a Doha-bound Qatar Airways flight reportedly came close to a “near miss” situation after they took off from Delhi airport 30 seconds after each other on Wednesday. It all happened around 5-30 p.m. The flights had taken off from the Dwarka side of the runway. The prescribed take-off time difference between two flights is at least two minutes.

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