From CK Nayak
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a suo motu order of the Meghalaya High Court directing commercial airlines to begin flight operations from the Umroi Airport to metro cities since big planes cannot operate from there as the airport is not safe, not ready, has altitude problem and even lacks some basic requirements.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the airlines, had moved the Supreme Court and said the airport at Umroi lacked infrastructure and hence flight operations by the commercial airlines cannot be commenced immediately. “It is not a taxi service, that you run it from here to there,” the renowned advocate and former Attorney said.
The High Court had passed the order without hearing the airlines. After the hearing, the apex court stayed the Meghalaya HC order which had ordered all commercial airlines including Indigo to commence commercial flights from the state airport at Umroi to Delhi and other metros.
The Supreme Court also stayed the personal appearance of the Civil Aviation Secretary, Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman and CEOs of IndiGo and SpiceJet airlines before the Meghalaya High Court in the event of their failure to decide on the date of commencement of flights. Rohatgi informed the court that a meeting between the representatives of the airlines and Aviation Secretary was to take place at 11 am.
The High Court in its December 7 order had said the Aviation Secretary “shall convene a meeting” of all the concerned officials of the Civil Aviation Ministry, AAI and that of the private airlines to take a “final decision as to the date from which flights will start operating from Umroi Airport”. The High Court had said: “The exercise shall be undertaken and completed positively without any fail within a period of seven days.”
“In case of default in taking such decision, the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Chairman AAI and CEOs/CMDs of the respective airlines shall have to remain personally present before this court,” it had said. They have to explain why the decision for operating flights for Umroi Airport has not been taken, the Court had directed.
Rohatgi said that the Indigo Airlines was operating as many as 421 flights for the Northeast. It does not have a slot for flight to and from Umroi Airport, he pointed out.
Rohatgi also told the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that it was an “extraordinary case”. “It relates to a suo motu order passed by the Meghalaya High Court that the airlines and the civil aviation authorities must give a date to start the commercial services,” he said.
“There is no petition. There are no papers. The airport is not ready. The aircraft cannot land, no slot, no fire fighting equipments,” Rohatgi added.
The Umroi airport was constructed way back in the mid-1960s and became operational in the mid-1970s with the new terminal building inaugurated in 2011. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been allotted land for the further expansion of the airport.
The present 6,000 ft runway can support only an ATR-42 aircraft and it will be extended by about 8,000 feet to facilitate operation of narrow body jet aircraft like Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The apron for parking of two such jet aircrafts and a refueling station are also in the scheme for the expanded airport.