The journey of Solar Impulse 2 towards Varanasi was delayed for almost two hours on Wednesday as one of the pilots of the solar powered plane had not completed the mandatory immigration procedure.
Due to the imbroglio, the plane could take off at around 7.30 am instead of 5.30 am. Sources said that the trouble started when officials realised that one of the pilots apparently did not have the mandatory immigration stamp on his passport after he landed in India.
The Solar Impulse team claimed that they were not briefed properly on the process. Reacting on the statement, an official concerned said that they have such a large team of people and professionals for everything. “I am surprised their team did not find following rules of a sovereign country like India that important,” he added.
He further said that it was a great honour to welcome Solar Impulse but, it was unfair to blame them because the officials insisted on completing statutory requirements. “Will other countries, like China, the US or Europe overlook any procedural flaw,” a senior airport asked while talking to The Pioneer requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, one of the pilots of Solar Impulse 2, Bertrand Piccard, wrote on the Twitter, “If there is no adventure in the future, it is not because of a lack of ideas, but because of excessive administration.” Piccard also was reported to have made his displeasure public in front of local airport officials and media personnel who had come to witness the take off.
The fossil fuel free aircraft initiated its journey from Abu Dhabi on March 9 and after a stopover at Muscat it landed in Ahmedabad on March 11. As per its new schedule Solar Impulse took off on Wednesday morning to Varanasi and after a day’s stopover shall fly to Myanmar, China and finally to the USA .
“The pilot will fly the zero-fuel airplane on about 1,127.9 km (609NM) for an estimated time of 15 hours. Maximum altitude on the flight will be 5,180 meters,” said the Solar Impulse website on the flight to Varanasi.