Pune: A Star Air flight from Nanded to Pune on Wednesday was delayed by several hours, resulting in flyers getting angry and frustrated.The flight (S5-249) was supposed to take off from Nanded at 1.30pm and land in Pune by 2.40pm. However, the aircraft took off at around 5.30pm and landed in Pune at 6.12pm. The return leg of the aircraft from Pune to Nanded was also delayed as a result. “There was no proper information due to which flyers got very angry. This is a flight under UDAN and such delays reflect badly on the scheme,” a flyer said.The airline said that a bird strike had delayed the operations. “The delay was primarily due to a bird strike incident at Manohar International Airport in Mopa (Goa) following which the aircraft was declared temporarily unairworthy. The aircraft initially departed from Goa to Nanded at 8.42am but had to return to Mopa, landing at 9.02am following a bird strike. Considering the situation, we immediately arranged an alternate aircraft based on the earliest available option and operated the Pune-Nanded-Pune sectors accordingly,” a spokesperson said.“Further, the changes in timings for this sector were necessitated by the transition from the summer schedule to the winter schedule. The timings were subsequently amended twice to align with the final slot approvals and the permitted watch hours of the connected airports,” the spokesperson said.
