Work is on to pull the SpiceJet plance out of the grassy area of the Mumbai airport runway.
Aviation regulator DGCA has asked airlines that safety cannot be compromised at any cost and has asked them to ensure that pilots don't use an "unstabilised approach" while landing aircraft in bad weather. The advisory, titled "Monsoon Operations", comes after a SpiceJet plane overshot the runway during landing at the Mumbai airport amid heavy rain on Tuesday night and several similar recent incidents.
"We have also instructed heads of flight safety of airlines to include in their safety briefings to pilots, an express instruction to refrain from landing with unstabilised approach while experiencing adverse weather conditions and initiate a go around," Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar said.
The SpiceJet aircraft veering off the runway forced the shutdown of the main runway of the Mumbai airport, leading to cancellation and diversion of over 100 flights. The plan is still stuck on the runway and work is on to pull it out of the grassy area.
"Mumbai Airport has not been shut. One of the runways which used to take 45 flights per hour is now taking 36 flights. So, there has been some dislocation. It will be sorted out very quickly," Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
"As safety cannot be compromised at any cost, all concerned are requested to strictly comply with the instructions. Non-adherence shall invite appropriate punitive action," the aviation watchdog said in its circular.
In the latest incident, a SpiceJet plane veered off its path on the runway while landing at the Kolkata airport today, damaging four lights.
On June 30, another SpiceJet plane from Bhopal veered off the runway at the Surat airport due to heavy rain and wind.
On the same day, an Air India Express aircraft moved away from the taxiway after landing and got stuck in soft ground at the Mangaluru airport in Karnataka.
The DGCA on Tuesday asked airlines to make available sufficiently experienced crew in the cockpit and that rostering of the crew should factor in fatigue element associated with the operations during bad weather.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)