Click to play videoNew Delhi: Two Air India flights landed on Monday in Delhi with full emergency preparations.
They raise serious questions about both the airline and the airport.
It was not a pretty sight for the country's flagship carrier Air-India with nosewheel of its Airbus A310 collapsed while it was being towed away.
The flight from Dubai to Delhi, carrying 200 passengers, had earlier made an emergency landing.
What is even more embarrassing is that the country's premier airport, the Indira Gandhi International Airport, could not clear the runway even after 12 hours, as it didn’t have the equipment to do so.
Only the Air-India possesses the special recovery kit in India, and the equipment was in Mumbai.
To make matters worse for the airline, another Air-India flight, a Boeing 767 from Bangkok, also developed technical snag and had to make an emergency landing.
Apart from the airport's efficiency, Air-India's airworthiness is also being questioned.
The Airbus A310 was 20 years old but the airline contends all its aircraft are air worthy
“Air India planes are old and new planes are coming, but no plane takes off and flies in the Indian skies before getting a proper clearance from the DGCA. Planes may be old but unless they are airworthy, they do not fly,” said Ministry of Civil Aviation Spokesperson Maushmi Chakravarty.
Air India says that this is a coincidence but it’s a loss of face for the legacy carrier and of the Delhi Airport as well.
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