Delay in CM’s flight at Vizag causes flutter

A passenger, who complained of chest pain, had to be deplaned at the eleventh hour, leading to the delay

There was a flutter at the airport with two persons deplaning in the last minute from Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy’s flight to Hyderabad on Sunday. The last-minute disembarking had given rise to some tense moments.

Mr. Kiran Kumar Reddy was originally scheduled to leave by the Air India flight at 6:20 p.m. from here. As it was delayed, he decided to board the SpiceJet flight at 7:30 p.m.

As the flight was to take off, one of the passengers, Mahaboob Ali (55), of Tilaknagar in Hyderabad complained of chest pain.

Though he was willing to fly, the pilot said since a VIP was on board he could not take a chance if emergency medical care was required.

Mahaboob Ali along with Rafiq Ali was deplaned while Amil Ali, travelling along with them continued the flight. Mahaboob Ali was given first aid by a doctor in the Chief Minister’s convoy and later shifted to a city hospital, Police Commissioner B. Shivdhar Reddy told The Hindu .

Following a protocol, Rafiq Ali was kept in the custody of the CISF till the Chief Minister’s plane landed in Hyderabad.

The three had come to the city for some business involving chocolate dealership.

Police inquiries revealed that the three came to meet one Srimannarayana at Gajuwaka. All this had led to a delay of 10 to 15 minutes in the take-off of the flight.