PANJIM: A Doha to Mopa Qatar Airways flight QR522 was diverted to Bengaluru Airport on early Tuesday morning due to bad weather conditions in the State. The flight was scheduled to land at Mopa international airport at 3.17 am.
Speaking to O Heraldo, a Manohar International Airport, Mopa, official said, ''The Doha-Mopa flight was diverted due to low visibility at the airport. We do have an Instrument Landing System (ILS). But Air Traffic Control (ATC) decides about landing of flights at the airport. ATC works under the Airports Authority of India (AAI).”
When asked what could be the reasons for the flight to be diverted to Bengaluru and not at the Dabolim airport, the official said that there are many airports in the nearby area but it is the ATC, which makes the decision.
A Qatar Airways official said the flight had taken off from Doha Airport at 7.43 pm and reached Bengaluru at 3.50 am.
"It took off from Bengaluru at 8.30 pm and landed at Manohar International Airport, Mopa at 9.38 pm on Tuesday. The flight was scheduled to land at Manohar International Airport at 3.17 am. It was diverted due to low visibility,” the official said.
When contacted, Director of Dabolim Airport Dhanamjaya Rao said, "Here there would not have been any issue. We have an Instrument Landing System (ILS). However, it is the ATC which decides and it is with the Navy. Had there been any request for landing, permission would have been given."
"Whenever there is a request for landing, normally they agree to that. Here there is no visibility issue. Flights landed at Dabolim airport around 5 am on Tuesday. There is no issue of visibility," Rao said.