Heavy, dusty winds on Sunday forced international flight SilkAir to land in the city late by three hours. The take off to Singapore was delayed by about 18 hours.
Visibility hit
A senior official at Coimbatore International Airport (CIA) said that the flight with 136 passengers was scheduled to land at the airport here around 10 p.m. on Sunday. But the heavy wind affected visibility and forced the pilot to keep the aircraft on air for a few minutes before it was diverted to Trivandrum International Airport, Kerala. The aircraft reached the airport there around 11.05 p.m.
After receiving information that the climate here was back to normal, the flight started from Trivandrum close to 1.30 a.m. on Monday and reached Coimbatore at 2.20 a.m.
Airport officials said that the usual return trip to Singapore that is scheduled at 10.50 p.m. from Coimbatore on Sunday was delayed and it started with 136 passengers at 5 p.m. on Monday.
The delay in take off was attributed to the due rest the pilot and crew required before their next trip. The airline made food and accommodation arrangements for the passengers who headed to Singapore.
Airport authorities at CIA said that delay of a flight for long hours due to bad weather was quite unusual in Coimbatore.
