Mumbai: Over the last year, the city's landscape has been littered with sky lanterns. These shrunken hot-air balloons, that have long been hugely popular in China and Thailand, are gaining steam here. While they were primarily used only during Diwali and weddings not so long ago, they can now be seen dotting the night sky almost every day, particularly on the weekends. And their unregulated use has become a cause of worry for those in the aviation industry.
"Any flying object can be a hazard for an aircraft or helicopter," said Captain Aatish Mishra, director of operations for Taj Airline Limited. "There needs to be some kind of control over the aerodrome vicinity, such that nothing is flown at least five nautical miles around the centre of the airport," he added.
Sky lanterns can be especially hazardous to helicopters, which must remain below 500 ft while within 15 nautical miles from the centre of Mumbai's airport, according to helicopter pilot Captain RK Singh.
07/03/15 Ayesha Venkataraman/Times of India
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"Any flying object can be a hazard for an aircraft or helicopter," said Captain Aatish Mishra, director of operations for Taj Airline Limited. "There needs to be some kind of control over the aerodrome vicinity, such that nothing is flown at least five nautical miles around the centre of the airport," he added.
Sky lanterns can be especially hazardous to helicopters, which must remain below 500 ft while within 15 nautical miles from the centre of Mumbai's airport, according to helicopter pilot Captain RK Singh.
07/03/15 Ayesha Venkataraman/Times of India
