Rourkela: Fliers in this city are slowly getting disenchanted due to the regular cancellation of flights. In the last two days, the Alliance Air flight, the only one which operates out of this town, has been cancelled. Initially, the reason for the cancellation of the flight was attributed due to the absence of the instrument landing system (ILS). Now what is an ILS? Well, it is an instrument which comes in handy and helps in landing during heavy clouds or fog. These natural phenomena take place during the monsoon and winter. During the Men’s Hockey World Cup played here in January, a number of flights had to be cancelled due to heavy fog.
Similarly, in May, flights on two days were cancelled due to storms and heavy clouds. Immediately, the media and social organisations started demanding the installation of an ILS. However, more surprise was in store. July 8, the weather was good with no rain and bright sun. In spite of that, the flight was cancelled. It left a number of passengers in the lurch. Forty-nine people were booked to fly out of this town and 51 were to fly in here from Bhubaneswar.
A similar incident took place Sunday. The decision to cancel the flights left passengers fuming. “What is the use of having such connectivity? It is nothing but having fun at our expense,” said a passenger. The airport manager of Alliance Air, Rahul Singh attributed the cancellations due to ‘operational reasons’ but did not elaborate.
Former secretary of the Steel Executive Federation of India and convener of the Rourkela Sangharsh Samiti, Bimal Bisi said that the lack of a sufficient number of aircraft was the reason for cancellation of flights. “The sole aircraft operates on the routes Bhubaneswar-Kolkata-Mizoram and Kolkata-JharsugudaBhubaneswar-RourkelaBhubaneswar-Kolkata. We need a couple of airline companies to come here. Only then cancellation of flights will end,” Bisi stated. “Only if the number of aircraft is increased a solution will be found,” added Bisi.