IGI: Alva hurt in mishap on airside,officials blame too much traffic

As if Delhis roads are not nightmarish enough for its drivers,steering on the airside in the citys airport is also becoming increasingly difficult due to the rising number of vehicles run by airlines,ground-handlers and their sub-contractors,say insiders.

Written by Geeta Gupta
New Delhi | September 2, 2009 01:17 AM IST

2 min read

As if Delhis roads are not nightmarish enough for its drivers,steering on the airside in the citys airport is also becoming increasingly difficult due to the rising number of vehicles run by airlines,ground-handlers and their sub-contractors,say insiders.

On Saturday,Uttarakhand Governor and senior Congress leader Margaret Alva was victim to one such mishap when the vehicle taking Alva from her special aircraft to the VIP gate collided with an airline minibus on the airside. Airport sources said Alva received minor injuries on her neck.

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Alva had arrived on Saturday (August 29) by a special flight from Dehradun. Sources said she was in GMRs VIP vehicle when a Jet Airways minibus hit it. The collision left the vehicles rear part damaged and its glass smashed; Alva received minor injuries,according to sources.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL),the GMR-led consortium undertaking expansion and modernisation work at the airport,confirmed the accident in a statement. It said the issue has been taken up with Jet Airways officials to take requisite action.

Dial spokesperson Arun Arora said the official airport vehicle carrying Alva had stopped at a crossing point to give way to an approaching aircraft on the main taxiway when the mishap occurred. But there was no injury to her or any other occupants of the vehicle, Arora added.

Sources close to Alva said she is doing fine now.

But airport sources said such accidents have become a recurrent phenomena at the IGI Airport due to the large number of vehicles running inside the airport. The number of vehicles has increased the likelihood of accidents despite DIAL implementing strict measures to monitor vehicular traffic and take action against offenders, an airport official said.

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An official said implementation of the ground-handling policy would bring down the number of vehicles plying on the airside,and thereby reduce chances of such mishaps. In that case,the equipment and vehicles would be provided by the ground-handler and also used by the airlines, the official said.