An expat pilot working for India’s regional airline Alliance Air landed in trouble with the Indian Air Force for taking photographs at one of their stations. This delayed the flight the pilot was supposed to fly, which eventually departed later in the evening, several hours behind schedule.
Detained pilot
On January 9th, an Alliance Air pilot was detained for a few hours by the Indian Air Force (IAF) after they found him taking photographs and videos of one of their stations.
According to a report by The Times of India (TOI), the pilot – a Brazilian national – was supposed to operate a flight between Uttarlai Air Force Station in the Indian state of Rajasthan and New Delhi. IAF officers confronted him for taking photos of the aerodrome and also reported the matter to India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA. TOI quotes a source as saying,
“Boarding was on when the pilot, a Brazilian national, started taking videos of the air force station. It’s not known if he was shooting out of curiosity, as an aviation enthusiast or if there were other reasons. He was caught by the IAF security personnel and detained for questioning.”
Photography prohibited
Civilian flights out of IAF stations are allowed, but certain rules and protocols are in place for such operations. While the flight on January 9th had all the required permissions, the pilot seems to have violated one of IAF’s norms that prohibits aerial/ground photography from the aircraft.
While the pilot, in all probability, was unaware of the rules, the incident occurred in one of India’s border states, Rajasthan. The Uttarlai Air Force Station is quite close to the border with Pakistan and, as such, is in a sensitive geographical location.
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With India’s Republic Day on January 26th approaching, authorities and military forces are also on high alert. The timing and location of the incident both contributed to the pilot being questioned by the IAF. The report quotes the source as saying,
"The incident has caused much consternation among the airline officials, especially with Republic Day a few weeks away."
Chartered flight
Perhaps one of the reasons the pilot may have become curious about the airport was that it was not a scheduled service by Alliance Air. The airline was operating a charter flight between Uttarlai Air Force Station and Delhi, carrying 23 passengers.
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FlightRadar24.com reveals that the ATR 72-600 (registered VT-AIZ) departed in the evening and reached Delhi at 18:28 after a short flight of about an hour and a half. Alliance Air is said to have de-rostered the pilot until further investigation.
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Source: The Times of India