Mumbai: Two days after a SpiceJet aircraft skidded on the runway due to heavy rains and low visibility, overshooting the main runway, the work to recover the aircraft continued on Wednesday as well.
This, however, led to cancellation of 75 flights to and from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) for the second consecutive day. The stranded passengers slammed several airlines on social media after the flights were delayed/cancelled after they were made to run around from one gate to another.
Meanwhile, GoAir, Indigo and SpiceJet announced waivers on cancellation and flight change charges for passengers travelling to and from Mumbai.
The Mumbai airport operator got a NOTAM (notice to airmen) till midnight for the main runway, where Air India engineers and technicians are working to remove the Boeing 737-800 aircraft that skidded on Monday night.
The NOTAM is given to pilots and includes information on potential hazards on a flight route. "A total of 75 flights have been cancelled till late Wednesday evening.
While 40 arrivals have been cancelled by various operators, 35 flights that depart from here are also not being operated due to partial operations," the official said.
The main runway of the CSMIA is likely to remain closed for flight operations till Thursday. "The main runway can handle upto 48 flights per hour, while the secondary runway can handle only up to 36 aircraft movements per hour.
Besides cancellations, the operations are going on smoothly," said an airport official. Considering the devastating weather conditions, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a warning to airlines to not land with an "unstabilised approach", threatening with punitive measures.
The cancellations on Wednesday resulted in an outburst of stranded passengers on social media. As the airlines had requested passengers to check the flight status before leaving for the airport, they posted queries regarding it on Twitter.
However, when the airlines replied with the news of cancellation, the passengers began slamming the airlines. Ankur Pande, who was supposed to fly from Mumbai to Kanpur, asked for a refund from the airlines after they cancelled his flight.
In another case, Archana Mohata, who was scheduled to fly with SpiceJet from Mumbai to Jaipur slammed the ground staff, who were nowhere to be seen, after the flight was rescheduled twice before being cancelled.
Mohata said, "SpiceJet should be grounded instead of Jet Airways! Worst service ever, no announcements or refreshments for stranded passengers since last night.
Fight delayed over 7 hours and still no clarity on take off." Moreover, she added, "Are you serious, 3 gates have been changed and no ground staff to help travellers with babies or oldies with a ride or luggage! 43, 41 and now 49! Are we here for a T2 tour?"
Meanwhile, due to heavy rains that have caused flight disruptions, airlines are accommodating passengers on alternative flights, subject to availability. Disturbingly, there was a message doing the rounds on social media, describing how SpiceJet flight SG 6237 from Jaipur to Mumbai landed. Here are some excerpts:
"MY SPICEJET FLIGHT SG 6237 CRASH LANDED AT MUMBAI at 11:51pm on July 1, 2019.
The incident could have been one of the airlines disasters which would’ve shook the national conscience and made our lives merely numbers in air disaster casualties. There are many things I would like to highlight:
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?
Amidst the heavy fog, the airplane landed at uncontrollably fast speed and skidded off the wet runway which led to oxygen masks falling down, followed by sudden brakes leading to an abrupt halt with a massive jerk.
The rear end of plane caught fire and the cabin smelled of fumes(perhaps due to burnt tyres). The front part of plane nosedived into the runway and the engines were centimetres away from hitting the ground.
SHAMEFUL SUB PAR EVACUATION
While many passengers lay injured, evacuations were late to come. After announcing emergency evacuation is under process, it took almost 30 minutes for SpiceJet to evacuate us..."
