WOMAN FAINTS AFTER GETTING LATE FOR FLIGHT
NEW DELHI: Two maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangars have been opened at the general aviation (GA) terminal of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport to serve business jets and other general aviation aircraft, said the airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) on Wednesday.
The two hangars -- each with around 2,000 sq-m of floor space to accommodate sixeight midsize general aviation aircraft -- have been fully operational since last month, and do away with the need for aircraft to travel to Terminal 1 (T1) for maintenance.
General aviation includes all flights other than scheduled commercial airlines, and largely caters to private aircraft and chartered flights.
DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said the dedicated GA facility and aircraft parking bays were the first of their kind in India. “This facility has put India at par with some of the world’s best airports. We have developed dedicated MRO hangars with world-class facilities near the GA terminal, which also are the first in the country. This facility not only benefits the aircraft operators but also helps Delhi airport in achieving its environmental sustainability goals,” he said.
The GA terminal handles an average of 36-38 air traffic movements each day.
At present, two concessionaires -- Bird Execujet Airport Services Private Limited and Indamer Mjets Airport Services Private Limited -- are operating the GA terminal at the airport, which was inaugurated in September 2020.
“These FBO (fixed based operators)-mro operators exclusively take care of all the requirements of passengers travelling by private aircraft and chartered flights and also provide maintenance of these GA flights,” said a DIAL spokesperson, adding that the new hangars will not only save time and money for operators, but also reduce environmental pollution.
“Earlier, GA aircraft and business jets had to travel an 8-10km stretch, including crossing an active runway, to undergo maintenance at hangars near T1. This often lead to wastage of time and fuel. The old hangars at T1 have already been dismantled,” the DIAL spokesperson said.
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: A woman allegedly suffered what appeared to be a “panic attack” at Terminal 3 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on May 5 after she was reportedly stopped and denied passage at the boarding gates by the Air India staff.
A video of the incident was widely shared on social media throughout Wednesday, prompting the airline to clarify that the woman and two other passengers who were going to Vadodara on Air India Flight 823, scheduled to leave at 4.45am, arrived late and the boarding gates had shut by then. In the video, the woman can be seen lying on the floor next to the Air India counter at the boarding gate.
In a statement, Air India said that a doctor and CISF personnel were called in but the passenger refused medical aid. “The video is conveying a misleading image of Air India being apathetic towards a passenger, who is seen lying near the gate,” the airline said.