New Delhi: After causing traffic bottlenecks on roads, the spectre of VVIP security now threatens to slow down air travel to and from Delhi. The security establishment has proposed to extend the no-fly zone over sensitive central Delhi locations like Rashtrapati Bhavan, PM House and Parliament — termed zone 89 — to make these areas aerially impregnable. But the proposed increased area includes some parts of the approach path to IGI Airport's runway 27, the smallest runway closest to Dwarka side.
Aviation authorities have clearly told the security establishment that if zone 89 is increased, it will mean shutting down of runway 27, leaving IGI with two usable runways and severely restricting its traffic handling potential. With aviation agencies indulging in this plainspeak, the proposal to expand zone 89 has not been cleared so far but is raised every few months for reconsideration on security grounds.
08/02/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
