TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu was forced to cancel his scheduled trip Warangal and Ongole as his helicopter was denied permission to fly by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) on Thursday.
The ATC cited inclement weather as the reason for its refusal to grant permission.
This was the first time that the ATC had refused permission for a VIP aircraft to fly after new rules were framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation came into effect.
The DGCA had framed the new safety rules after the helicopter crash that claimed the life of former CM the late YSR on September 2, 2009. One of the new rules disallows any flight of VIP aircraft whenever weather conditions are not conducive to safe operation of flights.
Naidu was scheduled to attend the marriages of the children of 2 of his party colleagues in Warangal and Ongole.
Senior TDP leader from Telangana Revuri Prakasa Reddy’s daughter is getting married at Warangal on Thursday, while the wedding of the daughter of party politburo member Siddha Raghava Rao is taking place at Ongole.