Airports Authority of India to review jet crash

While the Indian Air Force (IAF) has already initiated a court of inquiry into the crash of a Sukhoi-30 MkI fighter jet near Wade Bolhai village, 25 km north of Pune, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is also reviewing the crash closely, as it shares the airstrip with the IAF at Lohegaon airport.

According to airport officials, the crash forced airport authorities to delay landing of three commercial flights on Tuesday. The AAI has to share the runway at with the IAF, which is a Sukhoi base. The IAF is always given priority for using the runway.

The director of Pune international airport, PSRK Sudhakar said, “After the crash, we delayed landing of three commercial aircraft belonging to Jet Airways, GoAir and IndiGo airlines between 1.30 and 2 pm, as we wanted to keep the runway free for the IAF.”

Sudhakar said, “The aircraft belonged to the IAF, and we have no role in the investigations. But since we share the runway with the IAF and the crash delayed our commercial coperations, the AAI will review the incident. We will soon hold a meeting of all airlines to discuss Tuesday’s mishap.”

Nearly 42 commercial flights operate from Lohegaon airport, out of which two are international flights to Dubai and Frankfurt. On Saturdays, the airport is closed between 11.30 am and 5 pm for maintenance of the runway by the IAF.

The demand for a separate international airport for Pune has been pending for quite some time now.