Bid to clip flying club’s wings?
Chennai: A section of Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials are trying to stop the flying operations of Madras Flying Club (MFC), the 80-year-old flying institute has alleged. Senior MFC members said officials at the southern regional division of AAI were refusing to clear the landing certificates of pilot trainees of the flying club, putting their career in the lurch.
Interestingly, the officials who have verbally asked the MFC to stop their operations from Vellore airstrip have not given any written orders or reasons to stop the operations. A pilot trainee complained that he was verbally abused by a senior AAI official on Wednesday when he approached for his signature on the landing certificate. Alanding certificate registers the flying data of a pilot trainee, which helps calculate his total flying hours. MFC secretary K Sebastian Joseph told TOI that they were told to stop the landing and takeoff operations from Vellore airstrip.
“When we asked for the reasons and a written order, they refused to acknowledge the request and refused clearance of landing certificates of trainees who have completed the training for Commercial Pilot License (CPL),” he said. MFC conducts 25-30 flying hours operations regularly from Vellore air strip using their four aircraft. “Attempts from a section of bureaucrats have put MFC in a crisis, especially when five pilot trainees are awaiting clearance for their CPLs and another 45 candidates are undergoing training,” said Sebastian.
The flying club, which is a non-profit entity providing pilot training with a subsidized fee structure, is financially assisted by the Centre and the state government. Vellore air strip is currently being used by MFC for flying operations with no objection certificates from AAI, IAF and Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). As Vellore is not a controlled air space like Chennai or Bangalore, operations at Vellore is being monitored by a caretaker appointed by AAI. MFC has to get the landing certificates cleared from the local officer and the regional office of AAI, Chennai.
09/07/11 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India