Airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has claimed around Rs.1 crore in compensation from Jet Airways after its aircraft scraped against an aerobridge at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport here last month. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has also ordered a probe into the incident. The aircraft was under maintenance and was being towed at the time of the incident.
An airport sources said the aerobridge A11 had been rendered unusable and damages of around Rs.1 crore have been sought from the airline.
Regarding allegation by the airline that the aerobridge was “abnormally parked”, sources said when an aircraft heads for docking or towards an aerobridge “wing walk men” should be present on either side of the wing. “At the time of the incident the airline ‘wing walk men' were not present,” sources said, adding that the aerobridge had been in an extended position and sweeping was going on.
A DGCA official said: “The incident happened last month and a probe has already started. A report is expected within a week.”
Meanwhile, Jet Airways said in a statement: “Jet Airways Airbus 330-200 on June 19 while being towed from one point to another at the parking bay scraped one of the aerobridges which was parked abnormally out of its usual position at the Terminal T3 of IGI airport.”
The aircraft was under maintenance and had no passengers onboard, thus there were no injuries to passengers or staff. “A small portion of the wing leading edge area suffered a minor damage. Subsequently the damage component was replaced and the aircraft was made serviceable,” the statement added.
