“No vision…he wants state plane”: Iltija Mufti slams CM Omar Abdullah over flight chaos
Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 22 (ANI): PDP leader Iltija Mufti criticised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah after the latter called the Delhi Airport a “shit show”, saying that he wants a state plane so that he so that he does not have to wait in any plane.
Her comments came after a Delhi-bound IndiGo flight from Srinagar carrying CM Abdullah was diverted to Jaipur on Saturday night.
“His focus is somewhere else. His real issue is when he has to spend 4 hours at the tarmac. He wants statehood so that he can have a state plane. Farmers and students are under stress in Jammu and Kashmir… The NC has no focus on the real issues. They are running the BJP agenda here… BJP wants Waqf Act and NC has also sealed its mouth on Waqf… Ramban should be immediately declared a state disaster… The current CM has no vision. He just wants a state plane so that he does not have to wait in any plane for 4 hours…,” she told reporters on Tuesday.
In a late-night post on X, Abdullah expressed frustration over the ordeal, stating that the flight was in the air for three hours and was then rerouted to Jaipur.
“Delhi airport is a bloody shit show (excuse my French but I’m in no mood to be polite). 3 hours in the air after we left Jammu, we get diverted to Jaipur & so here I am at 1 in the morning on the steps of the plane getting some fresh air. I’ve no idea what time we will leave from here,” he wrote.Abdullah also shared a selfie standing on the aircraft’s steps after deplaning briefly for fresh air. Passengers on the flight, including Abdullah, were left stranded aboard the aircraft at Jaipur past midnight,” the post reads.
Abdullah also shared a selfie standing on the aircraft’s steps after deplaning briefly for fresh air. Passengers on the flight, including Abdullah, were left stranded aboard the aircraft at Jaipur past midnight.
Abdullah in another post said, “In case anyone is wondering, I got to Delhi just after 3:00 AM”.
Meanwhile, Delhi Airport authorities issued a clarification about the diversion of the Delhi-bound IndiGo flight Abdullah. The authorities cited operational issues due to ongoing infrastructure work and changes in wind patterns.
Delhi Airport said that it had already issued several advisories about the “unseasonal changing” wind patterns. It added that runway 10/28 had been closed since April 8 for Instrument Landing System (ILS) upgrades after consultations with all stakeholders and based on past wind data.
“Dear Mr Abdullah, as you may be aware, we’ve issued several advisories regarding the unseasonal changing wind patterns in Delhi. Runway 10/28 has been closed for ILS upgradation since 8th April, following consultation with all stakeholders and based on historical wind patterns,” the airport said in its reply to Abdullah’s post.The airport further explained that these changes may have caused flight diversions and were necessary to ensure passenger safety.”
Additionally, the shift toward more easterly winds and the use of converging runways for easterly arrivals have led to temporary capacity constraints during this upgrade. These conditions, at times, result in flight diversions to ensure passenger safety. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused,” it said.
