A blame game broke out between the Mumbai International Airport ltd (MIAl) and Air India (AI) on Friday, after 330 passengers and crew members of an Air India (AI) flight from Riyadh escaped unhurt in a freak mishap that saw the plane hit an aerobridge at the city airport. The AI-922 flight, a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, which had arrived in Mumbai from Riyadh at 1520 hrs, dashed against an aerobridge upon landing at the city airport.
No one was hurt in the mishap. Nor did the incident have any bearing on the operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), one of the busiest airports of the country.
However, the mishap sparked an instant blame game between the AI and MIAl. The AI claimed that while parking the aircraft at the arrival bay, the MIAl had displayed wrong information, which was not compatible with the particular model, and the left engine banged into the aerobridge.
"AI 922 Riyadh-Mumbai flight hit the aerobridge (used by passengers to board a plane) while parking at the arrival bay. The accident happened because the guidance system of MIAl (Mumbai International Airport) displayed wrong information. Due to this wrong information, which is not compatible with this model of aircraft, the left engine of aircraft got into contact with the parked aerobridge," an Air India official said.
“It (the mishap) has nothing to do with the guidance system of MIAl. The aircraft in this case was being marshalled or guided by Air India staff,” a MIAl spokesperson said.
She, however, hastened to add: “I am sharing the facts…I am not here to play the blame game”.