Govt to ban noisy and old planes at IGI from Oct 31

New Delhi: After night curfew on aircraft movement at IGI's newest runway, the capital is all set to boast of another first for an Indian airport to allow citizens to sleep in peace. The government has proposed to ban noisy old aircraft from operating in and out of IGI at night from October 31.
While a standard practice in western airports where they are completely shut at night and noisy planes banished at all times, this is the first time India is moving towards that direction by proposing it for Delhi.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) proposes to ban old planes that fall in chapter-II aircraft category from 10pm to 6am when winter schedule kicks in on October 31. This category includes aircraft like Boeing 737-200 classic and the Russian IL-76. In India, Alliance Air and Blue Dart use the B 737-200 as cargo aircraft. The night curfew at the new runway is also between 10pm and 6am.
Sources say the aviation regulatory authority recently met representatives from these airlines. While their logic was that the business model was based on using these planes as freighters at night, the DGCA has asked them to look for options. ''The West has already taken strong steps on noise pollution at airports and we also will have to make a start at some point. We propose to do so in Delhi as residents moved court and the CM also intervened. Airlines will initially be required to just keep off Delhi at night. A number of Indian and foreign airlines fly in old noisy planes and this can't go on unchecked,'' said sources, while adding it's just a matter of time before these actions are replicated in other Indian metros too.
18/10/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: airports Oct 2010