Those who went to receive their near and dear ones arriving by the Air India Mumbai – Visakhapatnam daily flight (AI 651) via Raipur on Sunday had to bear the brunt of the scorching sun. The departure of the flight from Mumbai was delayed by an hour. There was not enough accommodation for visitors to sit in the shade outside the terminal building. Despite shelling out hefty amount as parking charges, the cars had to be parked in the open.
The mercury levels around the airport area are normally higher than the temperatures recorded in city areas, located closer to the coast. The highest temperature (45 degree Celsius) of the season in Visakhapatnam was recorded on Sunday. Ironically, there are no drinking water facilities outside the terminal building for visitors.
“We received an SMS the previous midnight and again on Sunday morning, the airline called up and informed us of the delay,” said B. Ravi Teja, who arrived here on Sunday.
“We planned our itinerary late and our travel operator booked us on this circuitous flight due to non-availability of accommodation on direct flights,” he said.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the departure of AI 651 from Mumbai was delayed by about an hour on Monday also.
Delays may be inevitable at times but AI should be commended for giving prompt information to passengers, given the callousness exhibited by some private airlines in the past during such situations.
Air Costa has announced ‘monsoon sale’ with discounted all-in fares starting from Rs.1,499 on some sectors like Vijayawada-Chennai.
The discounted fares from Bengaluru to Visakhapatnam start from Rs.1,799 and from Tirupati to Visakhapatnam at Rs.2,499.
The ‘monsoon sale’ bookings can be done from May 25 to 29 for the travel period between June 15 and September 30.
Log on towww.aircosta.infor details and booking of tickets.
