Weather blues: Haze diverts flights, cancels exam at KU
CAA claims that the decision to divert the planes was 'of the pilots.'
The new year brought with it a mild haze and strong winds to the city. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The strong winds and haze in the city on Thursday morning affected the flight schedules and led to exams being cancelled at the University of Karachi (KU).
Three international carriers — Iran Air, Oman Air and Emirates — diverted their planes from Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi to other destinations due to bad weather. The Civil Aviation Authority claimed, however, that the decision to divert the planes was the pilots’. Other flights did land at Karachi airport between 10am and 11am, said the CAA spokesperson.
“We just informed them about poor visibility of 800 metres,” he said. “The pilots of these airlines took their own decisions and turned away their flights.”
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s updates, the weather was dry and windy. The wind speed reached nearly 56 kilometres per hour at around noon. The met office forecasted that the temperatures will stay between 13.5 and 24 Celsius in the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, over 16,000 students suffered as the KU administration decided an hour before to cancel the Bachelor’s of Commerce exam for the regular male candidates scheduled for 2pm on Thursday.
Braving the haze of dust that had enveloped the city since early morning, thousands of students began to approach the varsity for their ‘Introduction to Business’ exam. However, the KU administration cancelled the exam citing ‘bad weather conditions’.
“This is so irresponsible of them [the KU administration],” said Bilal Tahir, a students who had come to take the exam from Orangi Town. “The university should have announced it in the morning in order to save us from the suffering.”
Meanwhile, the same exam for the female candidates was held as per schedule as they had to sit the exam at a public-sector degree college instead of the KU exam centre.
“Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary decisions,” said Prof Dr Arshad Azmi, the KU examinations controller when approached by The Express Tribune. “We did not have prior knowledge that the dusty winds will blow in the city and disrupt our exam arrangements. We decided to wait because we wanted to see if the situation improves by noon.”
The date of the postponed exam will be announced later, added Dr Azmi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2015.
The strong winds and haze in the city on Thursday morning affected the flight schedules and led to exams being cancelled at the University of Karachi (KU).
Three international carriers — Iran Air, Oman Air and Emirates — diverted their planes from Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi to other destinations due to bad weather. The Civil Aviation Authority claimed, however, that the decision to divert the planes was the pilots’. Other flights did land at Karachi airport between 10am and 11am, said the CAA spokesperson.
“We just informed them about poor visibility of 800 metres,” he said. “The pilots of these airlines took their own decisions and turned away their flights.”
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s updates, the weather was dry and windy. The wind speed reached nearly 56 kilometres per hour at around noon. The met office forecasted that the temperatures will stay between 13.5 and 24 Celsius in the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, over 16,000 students suffered as the KU administration decided an hour before to cancel the Bachelor’s of Commerce exam for the regular male candidates scheduled for 2pm on Thursday.
Braving the haze of dust that had enveloped the city since early morning, thousands of students began to approach the varsity for their ‘Introduction to Business’ exam. However, the KU administration cancelled the exam citing ‘bad weather conditions’.
“This is so irresponsible of them [the KU administration],” said Bilal Tahir, a students who had come to take the exam from Orangi Town. “The university should have announced it in the morning in order to save us from the suffering.”
Meanwhile, the same exam for the female candidates was held as per schedule as they had to sit the exam at a public-sector degree college instead of the KU exam centre.
“Extraordinary situations demand extraordinary decisions,” said Prof Dr Arshad Azmi, the KU examinations controller when approached by The Express Tribune. “We did not have prior knowledge that the dusty winds will blow in the city and disrupt our exam arrangements. We decided to wait because we wanted to see if the situation improves by noon.”
The date of the postponed exam will be announced later, added Dr Azmi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2015.