Noise: IAF planes on radar

New Delhi: In the first ever move of its kind in India to mitigate noise pollution around an airport, the aviation ministry and DGCA have asked the defence ministry to avoid flying their old and extremely noisy military aircraft in and out of Delhi airport. At the same time realising the security requirements, the aviation authorities have suggested a practical alternate also by suggesting the movement of such aircraft be limited to runway 27 (that's closest to Dwarka side). Reason: Its approach path passes over the least number of residential colonies as compared to the final approach of other two runways and would hence disturb the least number of people.
Highly placed sources said this move is a direct fallout of residents living in colonies near IGI approaching the Delhi high court over the issue of noise from airport at night. The DGCA is already proposing to ban movement of noisy old aircraft that fall in chapter-II of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) like the Boeing 737-200 or the Russian IL-76 from IGI between 10pm and 6am from October 31. In India, Alliance Air and Blue Dart use the B 737-200 as cargo aircraft.
While ICAO Chapter-II rules apply to civil aircraft, residents have moved court against noise from movement of all kind of planes at night. Which means defence planes can't be excluded from the list of noise mitigation measures list being drawn up. That's why the aviation authorities have written to the defence ministry in the backdrop of the high court case.
22/10/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: airports Oct 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2010