Thursday, Apr 25, 2024 | Last Update : 12:29 AM IST
Modi forced to wait in plane for one hour, prior paying tributes to Jaya
From INS Adyar, the PM was to travel by road to Rajaji Hall to pay tributes to former Jayalalithaa.
Chennai: In what seems to be a major faux pas at Chennai airport on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to sit inside the IAF aircraft for nearly one hour after he landed at 12 noon on his way to pay tributes to Jayalalithaa, because the helicopter which was supposed to take him to INS Adyar did not had enough fuel. From INS Adyar, the PM was to travel by road to Rajaji Hall to pay tributes to former TN CM.
As the PM was waiting inside the aircraft, flight carrying Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam, CM Pinarayi Vijayan, former CM Ommen Chandy and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala was diverted to Coimbatore while many other flights were forced make rounds in the sky.
According to police sources, Modi arrived at the Old Airport at around 12.02 pm on Tuesday. The helicopter on which he was to travel to INS Adyar was kept ready in bay number 6. Security personnel accompanying the PM went and checked the chopper as a routine exercise found that there was not enough fuel in the helicopter. “According to PM’s security officers, the minimum quantity of fuel, required when VVIP is travelling, was not there in the chopper,” an airport source said.
The IAF helicopter crew tried to tell PM’s high profile guards that there was enough fuel to go and come back to INS Adyar near Marina beach, they were not convinced and insisted on fuel filling.
It took another one hour for IAF to get ready with required fuel and Modi took off at around 1.04 pm from the Old Airport to INS Adyar. Because of the presence of PM’s aircraft, the primary runway was not given to commercial aircrafts due to security reason.
This resulted in diversion of Indigo Airlines from Thiruvananthapuram, in which Kerala governor and politicians were traveling to Coimbatore airport. At least four other flights supposed to land between 12 noon and 1 pm were asked to make rounds in the sky and landed after 1 pm.
Eight flights, which were to take off during the time, had to wait till PM’s helicopter left the airport to INS Adyar. Kerala governor and CM with political leaders from that state returned from Coimbatore and landed in Chennai by 3 pm and rushed to Rajaji Hall to pay respects to Jayalalithaa.
