Air Odisha suspends flight operations between Ahmedabad and Diu, Jamnagar following technical glitch

Barely two days after it was inaugurated by the prime minister, the Air Odisha flight connecting Ahmedabad and Diu was grounded following a technical issue with the engine of the 18-year-old Beechcraft 1900D.

The airline had started services from Ahmedabad to Jamnagar, Mundra and Diu last month under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). The Ahmedabad-Diu service was the last to be launched on February 24.

On February 25, Mirror had reported that the airline may be compelled to suspend the operations if there is a problem with the engine as the aircraft is no longer in production. So, procuring spare parts would take time. Following the technical issue, the airline temporarily used a single engine 8-seater Cessna B208 on the three routes from February 26 to 28, said sources. However, even this is not possible anymore due to runway resurfacing work at Ahmedabad airport.

It was announced in November that the runway will be closed from March 1 to April 15, between 10 am and 7 pm. Still, Air Odisha went ahead and launched its intrastate flight operations in February without proper planning. Even the launch plans were met with hurdles as they first planned to start the service in January which then got postponed to February.

Aviation experts had then raised concerns about the operation and maintenance of the 18-seater twin-engine Beechcraft 1900D, the production of which was discontinued 17 years ago.

No solution in sight
Accountable Manager of Air Odisha Santosh Pani told Mirror, “There was an issue with the engine and we have got a replacement. The aircraft will be operational by early next week.”

He further added that, “However, we will not be able to operate on the Ahmedabad-Diu and Ahmedabad-Jamnagar routes because of runway closure at Ahmedabad airport.” Several other airlines have cancelled their day flights due to the work on the runway.

However, Air Odisha will be able to operate its Ahmedabad-Mundra-Ahmedabad flight as it departs at 8 am and returns by 10 am, before work on the runway begins. Pani told Mirror, “As there is no night landing facility at Diu and Jamnagar airports, we will not be able to operate flights on these routes until the runway resurfacing work at Ahmedabad airport is over.”

Losses mounting
Sources closely associated with the airline operation said they will lose about Rs 3 lakh every day till the runway remains closed. The Beechcraft model has been hired by the airlines from a private operator at about $50,000 per month, said a source.

Efforts to start an intrastate airline in Gujarat were made thrice in the past but each time it failed. In 2014, the service was scrapped after the operator failed to pay the staff as it had not received deposits from the state government.

About Beechcraft 1900D
The Beechcraft 1900D is a turboprop 18-seater aircraft. It was developed from Beech 1900 airliner that was primarily used as freight aircraft by military organisations. Used as a regional airliner, it was designed to give enough headroom to passengers and operate from airports with shorter runways. The 1900D model is the most popular version of the Beechcraft which ended production in 2001.