Sofian Khan: A VVIP flight of an Embraer-135 aircraft carrying Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj triggering a mid-air scare after the Mauritius Air Traffic Control pressed the panic button after it went incommunicado for 14 minutes, she was headed toward South Africa.
According to a statement by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), every attempts to establish contact with the flight were failed after the Male ATC handed it over to Mauritius ATC.But breaking the mandatory rule, INCERFA phase was activated by the Mauritius ATC, it added. “Mauritius ATC activated the uncertainty phase without allowing the stipulated time period of 30 minutes to lapse from the time when the aircraft last contacted ATC. This was perhaps done because the flight was carrying a VIP,” the AAI said.
Our time is a news portal