Minister of Defence and National Security Adam Shareef Umar has revealed authorities in Maldives are investigating an Air India aircraft landing on a runway which is not commissioned and under construction as a serious case.
The Airbus A320 NEO aircraft operated by Air India landed on the runway under development at Velana International Airport. The flight landed on the new runway while some construction were underway. However, there were no casualties in the incident, which is now investigated by Civil Aviation Authority, according to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
Following the incident, both pilots have been taken off duty and an inquiry is conducted by authorities. MACL said the aircraft has been grounded in Maldives subject to rectification and flight safety clearance. MACL further stated the runway is under construction, adding the runway is unfit for operations. In this regard, MACL expressed certain permits must be attained before starting flight operations on the new runway. However, MACL is now preparing to conduct test flights on the new runway.
Over the years, Air India has faced debt and employee strikes due to a dip in profits, followed by delays in salaries, allowances and bonuses. As recently as August 17, a section of Air India pilots have threatened to stop operations if their flying allowance dues are not paid immediately. Alleging that while the salaries and perks of other employees are paid in full albeit with a delay, the same for the pilots and cabin crew are ignored, despite the fact that flying allowances of these two licenced categories of employees form a major chunk of their salaries.
Meanwhile, it has been reported the government of India is mulling strategic sale of Air India subsidiary, Air India Air Transport Service (AIATSL), to raise funds and help lower the debt of the national carrier. A strategic sale of AIATSL, which provides ground handling services, is being planned as part of the turnaround scheme for Air India. Furthermore, the Indian government failed to attract any bids for the national carrier despite extending the deadline to May 31, in an attempt to complete the sale process by December 2018.
The airline had debts of over USD 31 billion by the end of March 2017, according to reports.