Former minister of civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Saturday condoled the death of people in the Kozhikode flight crash incident, saying that we must work towards avoiding such incidents in the future and that safety should be paramount.
"It is unfortunate that there was an accident yesterday at the Karipur Airport and the crew and many passengers were injured and lost their lives. We express our condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to all the injured," Raju said.
"We are all looking forward to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation report so that we understand this unfortunate incident better and work towards avoiding such incidents in the future. A lot of work needs to be done now and this has to be taken forward. We hope that safety will never be sacrificed in our country again," he added.
Raju further said that India's airline safety record has been quite good and recalled that the Karipur airport had been in need of land to extend the runway.
"India's safety record has been quite good. If my memory serves me right, I recall that airport needed a little land for runway extension so that it could become compliant to receive wide-body aircraft and become an international airport. I don't know if the aircraft was a wide body or narrow body but all aircraft and airports have to be compliant and safety is paramount," he said.
At least 18 people died when a plane carrying 190 passengers came from Dubai met with an accident at the Karipur airport in Kozhikode on Friday evening, as per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
( With inputs from ANI )