Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 19: In a major decision, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed restrictions on full occupancy of all flights taking off from Jammu, Leh and Patna Airports in view of safety considerations, temperature and inadequate Runway End Safety Area (RESA).
The DGCA has directed all airline companies operating their flights from Jammu, Leh and Patna Airports not to fly with 100 per cent occupancy and leave at least 15 per cent seats vacant even if the passengers had booked themselves in advance.
“No flight from these three Airports would take off with more than 85 per cent passengers. The airlines, who have booked 100 per cent passengers in advance would have to drop remaining 15 per cent passengers. The ‘first come, first board’ yardstick would apply to adjust the passengers,” official sources told the Excelsior.
The DGCA direction was based on safety considerations, rising temperature and inadequate Runway End Safety Area (RESA), they said.
The DGCA direction has left the passengers as well as airline companies high and dry especially at a time when they had booked 100 per cent occupancy in view of summer vacations leading to rush to Mata Vaishno Devi ji shrine and tourist flow to Kashmir and Leh.
Sources said the airline companies had been left with no other option but to drop 15 per cent passengers even if they had booked the tickets month or two months in advance. The companies had been adjusting 85 per cent passengers, who were reporting first to board the plane while tickets of remaining 15 per cent were being treated as cancelled.
SSP Anti-Hijacking, Jammu Airport, Ashok Sharma said this has created piquant situation at Jammu Airport, where 15 per cent passengers in all flights were being left out daily in view of the DGCA guidelines, leading to protests from the dropped passengers.
“The airline companies were asking the dropped passengers to get their ticket money back or leave for Srinagar or other destinations booked by them by taxi for which the companies were paying the fares,” Sharma said, adding they have been persuading the passengers to cooperate with the airline companies as they had to observe the DGCA guidelines.
Sharma said police was trying to maintain law and order at the Airport in view of protests by the passengers, whose tickets were being forcibly cancelled and they were being informed (about cancellation of tickets) only after reaching the Airport.
The SSP Airport said the airline companies were reimbursing the ticket amount to the passengers or giving them the option of travelling to their destinations, for which they had boarded the tickets, by taxi.
Sources said the RESA have been described as not up to the mark at Jammu, Leh and Patna Airports, which was one of the major reasons for the DGCA directive to airline companies to fly with only 85 per cent occupancy. Further, the loads had to be reduced by the companies in view of the rising temperatures especially when they go above 40 degrees Celsius.
Sources, however, said the Airline companies have taken up the issue of reduction in load with the DGCA authorities and there were reports that the issue would be resolved in the next few days.
“We are on the job. We have taken up the issue with the DGCA especially when the tourism season was at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir. Hopefully, a formula was likely to be worked out shortly as the tourists season was suffering due to the DGCA directive,” sources said.
There was heavy rush of pilgrim tourists at Jammu with devotees flocking to holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi Ji and tourists thronging Kashmir and Ladakh.
The sources, however, asserted that the DGCA decision was purely taken keeping in view the safety and security of the passengers flying in the places from three Airports of Jammu, Leh and Patna.
“The safety of the pilgrims is always our priority, which can’t be compromised at any cost,” they said.
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