/ 30 May 2013

Gupta flight plan leaves MPs perplexed

Gupta Flight Plan Leaves Mps Perplexed

Democratic Alliance MP Ian Ollis reportedly received a reply to a parliamentary question from Martins on Wednesday, detailing the plan used by the Jet Airways plane which landed exactly a month ago,  the Cape Times reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, he said the flight plan was: "FSSSZQZX FSSSYFYX FSSSFDPA FQBEZQZX FQBEYFYX FQBEFDPA FMMMZQZX."

This left some MPs scratching their heads.

"Like many speeches one hears in Parliament, the minister's reply on the flight plan is a lot of gobbledegook," Ollis was quoted as saying.

"It would have been helpful if he gave us an explanation in layman's terms. It's designed for a civil aviation engineer."

The jet landed at Waterkloof, carrying 270 guests for the wedding of Vega Gupta (23) and Indian-born Aakash Jahajgarhia at Sun City.

The landing sparked widespread criticism and an investigation was launched.

Government initiated a probe into a possible breach of diplomatic protocol, which revealed that an initial attempt by the Gupta family to organise a special landing at OR Tambo Airport was turned down. The Guptas then approached the Indian High Commission who re-designated the wedding entourage as an official delegation to secure a landing at the Waterkloof base.– Sapa