Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 20: A day after the Excelsior carried a story on the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directive to airline companies to reduce occupancy in flights to 85 per cent leading to enormous inconvenience to the passengers, who had booked their tickets well in advance, the DGCA today revoked the order for all three Airports of Jammu, Leh and Patna.
Official sources said the DGCA revoked the order after Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Officer (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh also intervened and asked the DGCA to take note of tourist season in Jammu and Kashmir, which was being affected as the airline companies had to drop 15 per cent passengers forcibly to follow the DGCA guideline.
SSP Anti-Hijacking Jammu Airport Ashok Sharma said the airline companies received the DGCA order today restoring the status quo and allowing them to carry 100 per cent passengers in their planes.
Sharma said the law and order problem created with forced cancellation of tickets of 15 per cent passengers has been averted with revocation of the DGCA order.
Sharma had yesterday briefed BJP MP and former Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Partap Rudy, a commercial pilot about the DGCA decision, which had resulted into law and order problem at the Jammu Airport with airline companies cancelling tickets of 15 per cent passengers after 85 per cent passengers boarded the plane. Rudy had commanded a flight yesterday.
Sources said Dr Jitendra Singh and Rudy took up the matter with the DGCA, which revoked its order today.
The DGCA direction was based on safety considerations, rising temperature and inadequate Runway End Safety Area (RESA).
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