PM’s principal secy among passengers on diverted flight

Jharsuguda: A flight carrying 168 passengers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's principal secretary Dr PK Mishra, was diverted to Bhubaneswar after it was unable to land at Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Airport in Jharsuguda due to runway maintenance. The flight operating on the Delhi-Jharsuguda route, was scheduled to land at VSS airport at 3:20 pm. Dr. Mishra was travelling to attend the convocation ceremony at IIM Sambalpur scheduled for Saturday.
"We conduct routine runway inspections daily. Today, scheduled maintenance work was required following inspection," said airport director Sandeep Kumar Tiwari. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued until 5:30 pm to complete the maintenance work, leading to the flight's diversion.
After a four-hour delay, the aircraft landed at Jharsuguda at 7:13 pm after taking off from Bhubaneswar, allowing passengers to reach their destination. VSS airport currently hosts three airlines - IndiGo operating flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Bangalore, Star Air connecting Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Raipur; and Alliance Air serving the Bhubaneswar route.