By Our Reporter
Shillong: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Shillong Airport, Umroi is at a brink of losing its credibility due to the inability to resolve the perennial problem of last minutes flight cancellations which had aroused angers among many air travelers.
Being the second time in the row, the last minute cancellation Shillong-Kolkata flight at Shillong Airport, Umroi recently had gathered many criticisms from air travelers which included tourists from various parts of the country.
When contacted, Meghalaya Transport Minister AT Mondal told this reporter here on Wednesday that the government is very concerned about this matter and it’ll be taken up with the service provider, Air India. “I have already written to the Air India to provide more aircraft but I was informed that there is a shortage of flights”, he added.
Mondal also informed that with the new Airport Director at Shillong Airport, “We might be able to resolve this problem”.
The new Airport Director S Shekhar said, “This inconvenience is directly linked to the non-availability of aircraft with Air India. This would cause a huge loss to the carrier in the long run.”
At the moment only the 45-seater subsidiary aircraft of the Air India is operating from Umroi and at present the Air India at present has a limited number of these aircraft at its disposal, Shekhar said.
Commenting on the parking bay at the airport, the Transport Minister said extension work would be carried out soon.
It may be mentioned that at the moment, only one aircraft can be parked in the airport since there is no parking bay.
Meanwhile, the Airport Director said that the extension work of the run-way is under construction and the deadline was expected to be within 18 months. The Airport Director has also informed that non-availability sufficient number of aircraft captains is a huge problem in continuing Shillong-Kolkata and vice versa service. “We are trying to address this problem,” he added. Meanwhile, when asked about the Instrumental Landing System (ILS), Mondal said, “there is a delay in the installation due to the alignment and technical problems. But lots of measures has been taken by the government to complete the installation of the ILS on time”.