Delhi Airport could have witnessed a major mishap on Wednesday morning as two Vistara airline planes were cleared to take-off and land at the same time. The take-off was halted after instructions from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) came.
According to the details, flight UK725 (from Delhi to Bagdogra) was in the process of taking off from the newly inaugurated runway, while another Vistara flight (from Ahmedabad to Delhi), which had landed on a parallel runway, was moving towards the end of the runway.
Meanwhile, a Pune-bound Vistara flight landed back at the Delhi airport on Wednesday after its windshield got cracked due to inclement weather. A Vistara spokesperson said the pilots decided to land the flight at the IGI airport as a precautionary measure and an alternate flight was arranged for the passengers.
According to Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), no aircraft or vehicle movement is allowed during the process of take-off and landing.
Sources said passengers became a little apprehensive when the pilot of the flight bound for Bagdogra announced that the plane will not take off due to instructions from ATC.
Senior pilot and founder of Safety Matters Foundation, Capt Amit Singh said that flight operations “from closely spaced runways require enhanced monitoring and stricter compliance with SOPs to avoid a potential traffic collision due to the proximity of the flight path.”
