dna exclusive: Minaret on flight path near Juhu airport a disaster waiting to happen

The airport authorities has now woken up to the dangers of the minaret near the Juhu airport. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) authorities has written to the aviation regulator about the minaret constructed at a mosque near Santa Cruz bus depot. The airport authorities claim that the structure is affecting the glide path of flights and this could prove disastrous for an aircraft while taking off and landing.

A spokesperson of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said that they have brought the matter to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “The aviation regulator will now pursue the matter further,” he said. 

The mosque trustees, on the other hand, claim that they had acquired all the necessary permission for the height of the minaret from the Airport Authority of India (AAI). “We have not gone an inch above the permissible limit. Why did they give us permission in the first place if they want to take objection to it now,” said Abdul Aziz Barudgar, a developer and former civic corporator whose family is among the mosque’s trustees. 

“Why are the authorities not concerned about the slums around the airport which can be a real terror threat,” Barudgar added. 

However, AAI’s regional executive director AK Sharma said that the permission has been given only up till a safe level. “If the construction goes beyond that, then we are not to be blamed.”

DGCA deputy director (western region) A Khanna, however, said he was not aware of the matter and would to look into it before commenting on it. According to industry insiders, the mosque will first be served a notice. If the legality of its construction is not proven, then the civic authorities will be asked to take appropriate measures.

According to airport sources, the obstruction in the glide path has forced MIAL to drag the threshold area on the runway a bit further. An Air Traffic Control (ATC) source said that the minaret is affecting take-offs and landing of flights from one end of the primary runway.  

However, AAI has told helicopter operators of Juhu airport that helicopters, by virtue of their aerodynamic designs, can avoid the minaret by changing their flight path by certain degrees. But the operators don’t agree with the view of the AAI. The officials of Rotary Wings Society of India (RWSI), which is an association of helicopter operators, explain that the machine is ideally expected to descend at an angle of maximum of eight degrees for safe landing. However, due to the minaret, the pilots are forced to land at an angle of 10 degrees, which makes it potentially dangerous.

“The authorities will realise the graveness of the issue only after an incident happens,” said Uday Gelli, president (west region), RWSI.