All the flights from the city airport took off on time despite a notice issued by the Indian Aircraft Technicians Association to its technicians asking them not to give engine start-up clearance till safety and security was ensured.
When The Asian Age got in touch with the Association, its officials said they wanted authorities to assure them of a safe and secure environment and were in talks with them. “Delaying flight can trouble passengers and we don’t want this,” said the official.
This notice was issued following a runway mishap on Wednesday where Air India technician Ravi Subramanian was sucked into the whirring engine of an aircraft at 8.45 pm before he was set to give the thumbs up sign to the pilot.
An inquiry has been launched regarding the incident and statements have been recorded. These statements state that there was a communication gap between the pilot and the engineer. Cabin crew and technicians are now raising the issue of fatigue mental stress among pilots.
According to a top official from one association, the national carrier is struggling with pilot shortage, which was putting work pressure on others. Sometimes pilots have to take off immediately after their arrival. On Wednesday too, the pilots of the Air India aircraft had very short interval before take off again.
“On Wednesday itself at Delhi airport almost 169 passengers were boarded in an Air India aircraft at 8.15 pm but the flying commandant was absent. Passengers were sitting in the plane and after an hour they asked the cabin crew about the absence of the pilot and created a ruckus. Later the pilots came and the aircraft took off at about 10.30 pm and the reason given for the delay was non-availability of pilots,” said the official.
