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Air India may seek Rs 65-70 cr compensation for Kolkata mishap

The regional arm of national carrier Air India, Alliance Air has a fleet of 12 aircraft, comprising ATRs and Canadian Regional Jets (CRJs). A Jet Airways tarmac coach had on December 21 rammed into an Alliance Air stationary ATR aircraft, at Kolkata’s NSCB airport, resulting in substantial damage to the plane. 

Alliance Air is assessing the damage to aircraft and revenue loss suffered due to the grounding of the plane and once the exercise is completed, it would serve a notice on Jet Airways, sources said. “A team from ATR has already completed inspection and has, prima facie, found substantial damage to aircraft.

“However, its report is awaited. Besides, our insurers (of Air India and Jet Airways) are also carrying out survey to assess the damage,” Air India sources said. Public sector insurers New India Insurance and Oriental Insurance Company are carrying out the survey for Air India and Jet Airways respectively, they said. Based on reports, the legal notice for recovery of losses will be sent; they said adding “preliminary assessment suggests it should be to the tune of Rs 65-70 crore.” 

At 5.40 am on December 21, a Jet Airways shuttle bus drove into a stationary Air India aircraft at the Kolkata airport, causing a momentary scare. There were no casualties. The mishap occurred around 5.40 am after the driver allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, causing the bus to go off the track and hitting the aircraft — an ATR 42 plane — that was parked on bay number 32 on its right side.

The driver of the bus was arrested immediately. According to Air India, the aircraft was scheduled to fly to Silchar from Kolkata. Sources at the airport said the driver — identified as Momin Ali during preliminary interrogation — told investigators he fell asleep while driving and thus swerved out of the designated path and crashed into the aircraft.

Alliance Air operates 32 flights per day to 29 regional routes including Agatti, Bhuj, Car Nicobar, Dehradun, Diu, Dharamshala, Durgapur, Kullu, Pantnagar, Port Blair, Rajkot, Shillong, Silchar, Surat, Vijayawada, Vizag and Tezpur from its bases across Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
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