A Kingfisher Airlines flight from Srinagar to Delhi was on Tuesday diverted to Jaipur where 28 people on board, including a Jammu and Kashmir Minister and his family members, were allowed to deplane. This move came under attack from other passengers who said it was done to facilitate the VIP for his pilgrimage to Ajmer.
The airlines rejected the charge as “absolutely untrue,” saying the flight had to be diverted to Jaipur on account of “VIP movement” at the Delhi airport and ATC congestion over it.
Flight IT-353, scheduled to depart at 2.40 p.m., took off from Srinagar after about an hour's delay and landed at Jaipur around 5.30 p.m. When it approached Delhi, the pilot reportedly announced that there was congestion at the Delhi airport and that he was running short of fuel. Some passengers claimed that this was done at the behest of Jammu and Kashmir Health and Agriculture Minister Javaid Ahmad Dar, who was scheduled to visit the Dargah in Ajmer.
The flight took off for Delhi after an hour's halt in Jaipur, they said, contending that passengers cannot deboard mid-way.
