John Wilber &Vikramaditya
Port Blair, September 3: Unpredictable weather conditions, marked by heavy rain and strong winds, have severely disrupted air travel in and out of Port Blair over the past two days. Notably, two flights—one each from Vistara and Indigo—were compelled to return due to adverse weather conditions.
Yesterday, a Vistara flight from Kolkata carrying 180 passengers was unable to land at Port Blair Airport due to adverse conditions. The flight was redirected to Bhubaneswar, where passengers safely disembarked. Many passengers questioned why the aircraft was not rerouted back to Kolkata, its point of origin. Today, an Indigo flight travelling with 138 passengers from Chennai faced a similar issue, turning back to Chennai and being rescheduled for tomorrow.
The Vistara flight, designated UK 747, departed Kolkata around 9:00 AM on Saturday but was forced to turn back after a two-and-a-half-hour journey. While attempting to return to Kolkata, an afternoon thunderstorm thwarted its landing, compelling the pilot to divert to Bhubaneswar, a 40-minute journey from Kolkata, for refuelling. The ordeal lasted until 5:00 PM, with passengers confined to the aircraft throughout the journey. Questions have been raised about the rationale behind the choice of diversion.
To mitigate the inconvenience, Vistara’s previously cancelled flight was successfully rescheduled and landed in Port Blair today at around 11:30 AM. Additionally, a SpiceJet flight from Chennai was delayed by two and a half hours, landing at 1:30 PM instead of its scheduled 11:00 AM arrival time. Airlines have begun rescheduling passengers onto the next available flights to manage the disruptions.
The irregularities in flight schedules have led to significant disruptions, including stranded tourists and delays in Port Blair. Local authorities are closely monitoring the situation as they grapple with the logistical challenges posed by the unstable weather.
