Two blue balloons were spotted hovering over Mumbai airport’s runway yesterday; Indian Meteorological Department denied any role in the balloon sighting
Apart from the usual issues, Mumbai airport yesterday had to worry about one more subject — floating balloons over the main runway. This is the third time balloons have been seen over the runway area. Concerned with these sightings that may disrupt air traffic, airport officials complained that the activities are increasingly getting popular with people and it needs to be dealt with appropriately.
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An Air India flight AI616 on Thursday was asked to do a go-around, after the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC) spotted two blue balloons over runway number 27. The ATC asked the plane to wait for the instructions before landing. The routine flight departs from Hyderabad at 8.15 am and lands in Mumbai around 9.45 am. The plane had to go-around for 11 minutes, as the runway was closed for four minutes for inspection purpose.
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“The incident took place at around 10 am when two blue-coloured balloons were spotted 100 feet above the runway 27. These balloons had two flags at their tips” an ATC official said.
Weatherman speaks
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) also releases balloons routinely to collect weather data.
However, a senior IMD official told mid-day, “We release balloons to determine the wind direction, which is of utmost importance to us. Every day, we release a small weather balloon at 10.30 am. But, our balloons are either red or white in colour. The blue-coloured balloons can never be ours.”
Read Story: Now, IMD's weather balloon sparks panic at Mumbai airport
As soon as the news reached other departments, the security jeep immediately got into action and Saki Naka and Vakola police stations started their investigation.
“Various types of flying lantern and balloons are being sold at the traffic signals these days. This may be one of the reasons for the rise in the frequency of balloon sightings at the airport area, which needs to be dealt with strictly,” a senior ATC official said.
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