Buddha Air’s ATR 72 landed at Pokhara Airport at around 4 pm on Friday. After that, the passengers on the plane were shocked. They boarded the plane from Kathmandu to Janakpur. When they found out that their aircraft had landed in Pokhara, they were confused. What happened? Why did it happen?
According to Pokhara Airport Chief Bhola Guragain, the passengers found out that they had come to Pokhara instead of Janakpur only after the aircraft landed safely at Pokhara Airport.
Generally, in case of any technical glitch in the sky, it is common to look for alternatives that cannot land if the weather in Janakpur is not clear. However, there was no such situation on Friday. Guragain says that the aircraft did not come to Pokhara because of safety.
What happened?
According to airport sources, this was due to the weakness of the staff deployed by the company in ground handling at Tribhuvan Airport. Buddha Air’s flight was a pre-scheduled flight to Pokhara. That is why the control towers of both airports allowed the aircraft to fly to Pokhara. However, passengers bound for Janakpur have inadvertently boarded on board the aircraft. As a result, the aircraft bound for Pokhara was filled with passengers from Janakpur. The crew did not find the needle.
The pilot and air hostess provide information about the destination at the beginning and end of each flight. They must have given that information during this flight. Why didn’t the passengers respond to the ‘announcement’ of the pilot and air hostess till the plane reached Pokhara? The head of the airport, Guragain, says that this issue is surprising.
According to an airport source, the pilot did not make any mistake in the flight as it was scheduled to fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara. However, an official of Kathmandu Airport informed me that the matter would be investigated.
According to Pokhara Airport Chief Guragain, the aircraft carrying passengers from Janakpur to Pokhara has been refueled and sent back to Janakpur via Kathmandu. The aircraft has successfully landed in Janakpur.
