The makers of solar powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 may have found solution to the imbroglio of not using fossil fuel while on their round-the-world journey but were lost in the quagmire of statutory procedures on ground in India.
So much so that their journey on the third leg, from Ahmedabad to Varanasi on early Wednesday morning, was delayed by almost an hour-and-a-half. The plane could finally take off at 7:20 am, instead of the earlier expected takeoff time 6 am.
The social media went abuzz with the reports quoting pilot Andre Borschber that “bureaucratic delays” held up the flight plan of the solar plane. The Solar Impulse website too attributed the delay to “customs issues”. 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 amply clear before the local airport officials and media personnel who had come to witness the take off at Ahmedabad airport. And his team tweeted, “Worried! The #solarTEAM in #Ahmedabad might not arrive in time in #Varanasi to help for the landing! #Si2passport.”
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 twitterati went beserk putting onus solely on the Indian officials. For example, one said "Man can fly an aircraft powered by the sun, but can't beat Indian customs, reminder of limits of technology."
One of the most respected names in Indian corporate world, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said, “Shameful but who's bothered?” “It has been a great honour for us to welcome Solar Impulse. We are grateful, elated and were warm in welcoming our guests. I feel it is unfair to blame us or getting miffed because we insisted on completing statutory requirements. Will other countries, like China or US or Europeans overlook any procedural slip up,” a senior airport official said on condition of not being named.
“The Solar Impulse team claimed that they were not briefed properly on the process. 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 as India that important,” another official said.
Other than the statutory hurdle, solar plane had seen a delay of over three days due to inclement weather in Ahmedabad, that had seen unseasonal rains and hailstorm. It was scheduled to take off for Varanasi on Sunday last.
On the 1,000-km flight to Varanasi, the Solar Impulse website stated, “The pilot will fly the zero-fuel airplane on about 1127.9km (609NM) for an estimated time of 15 hours. Maximum altitude on the flight will be 5180 meters." The plane was estimated to land at Varanasi airport at 9 pm.
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