The punishment transfer of four immigration officials on Thursday has much to do with the way Air India operates its flights in Ahmedabad.
The punishment transfer of four immigration officials on Thursday has much to do with the way Air India operates its flights at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA).
Besides the negligence of the four constables and a police inspector deployed at the city airport as immigration officials, leading to over 80 international passengers to leave the city without clearance, the Air India management too is equally responsible for the fiasco. The incident also leads to some startling facts being revealed about the particular flight's efficiency.
The flight (earlier AI-636, now AI-012) which caused the embarrassment, seldom arrives and departs on time. The day when four immigration officials were found to be absent from their counters, the flight reportedly arrived earlier than scheduled. Sources revealed that the actual arrival time is 1520 hours but on March 4 it landed at 1445 hours. Generally, it rarely touches down in Ahmedabad before 4 pm.
"The shift of immigration officials starts from 12 pm. Since there is no work until the international flights start landing, from 7:30 in the evening onwards, the officials are casual in their work. But on that day the flight arrived well before time and that created problems," said a senior official at the airport, requesting anonymity. In fact, this is the only international flight arriving at day time at SVPIA. Otherwise, the fleet of international airlines starts landing and taking off only after 7:30 in the evening.
What is most surprising about this Air India flight is the number of passengers that it carries on any particular day. According to data obtained by DNA relating to the number of passengers' arrivals and departures in March, a mere five passengers arrived on the first day of the month. Moreover, the flight took off with, in all, 22 passengers aboard. Sources said the number of seats of this aircraft ranges from 200 to 300.
The data reveals how this aircraft (Airbus A320) is a source of huge losses. Calculations reveal that if this aircraft has 300 seats it will generate at least Rs9 lakh from Delhi to Ahmedabad if each ticket costs Rs3000. If the flight is arriving with five passengers and departing with a mere 22, one can imagine the loss it causes.
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