HomeMumbai Airport Safety Spotlighted After Ahmedabad Air Crash

Mumbai Airport Safety Spotlighted After Ahmedabad Air Crash

A recent Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad has reignited long-standing concerns over aviation safety protocols at Mumbai airport. A former air safety officer’s whistleblower account alleges critical lapses, including violations of height clearance norms and runway hazards, raising urgent questions about regulatory oversight and the safety of thousands of daily flights from India’s busiest airport.

The incident in Ahmedabad has directed renewed focus on the aviation ecosystem in Mumbai, especially with regard to systemic safety violations. At the centre of this discourse is a former air traffic controller and air safety officer, who served with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Mumbai. Her role was critical: scrutinising proposals by real estate developers to ensure that structures did not encroach upon or obstruct aircraft flight paths. According to the official, numerous high-rise construction proposals in the city were turned down for violating prescribed safety limits. These rejections were rooted in globally mandated air safety protocols. Despite following due procedure, many of her decisions were reportedly overridden at higher administrative levels, with clearances subsequently granted in New Delhi.

Troubled by this trend, the official took the unprecedented step of becoming a whistleblower. In 2014, she filed an intervention in an ongoing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Bombay High Court that was originally filed by a lawyer from Kochi. Her intervention revealed alarming claims—alleging not only bureaucratic indifference but also policy-level negligence from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and AAI itself. She recounted a personal reason for her uncompromising stance on air safety. During her adolescence in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, she witnessed her elder brother, a navigator in the Indian Air Force, break down after losing colleagues in a mid-air collision during a landing drill in Ludhiana in the early 1980s. The memory fuelled her decision to pursue a career as an air traffic controller and later as an air safety officer.

From 2012 onwards, the official repeatedly flagged safety vulnerabilities at Mumbai’s main Runway 09/27, as well as Calicut Airport. These warnings, she claims, were overlooked. She later contended that similar latent risks contributed to the tragic crash at Calicut on 7 August 2020, which resulted in the deaths of 19 passengers and two pilots. Though officially termed a pilot error, she believes that systemic shortcomings were equally to blame. Responding to criticism that she had bypassed the established chain of command, the official argued that safety concerns should not be stifled by administrative hierarchy. With passenger safety on the line, she believed it was imperative to escalate unresolved risks to senior authorities when immediate supervisors failed to act.

One of the most pressing issues highlighted in her account concerns the rampant construction of tall buildings within a 20-kilometre radius of the Mumbai airport. A joint AAI-MIAL obstacle survey in 2010-11 identified 439 physical obstructions in flight paths. A subsequent 2020 survey allegedly revealed 1,140 such obstacles. These include structures built in direct contravention of safety regulations, posing potential collision threats during take-offs and landings—the two phases most vulnerable to accidents. The official also cited instances of non-reporting of air safety incidents by the Mumbai ATC, and discrepancies in following guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and international aviation regulators. She asserted that more than 85% of air accidents occur during take-off or landing, and hence, maintaining clear approach and departure zones is critical.

In 2018, the Bombay High Court permitted the official to file a fresh petition detailing these issues. Ten days after this legal nod, she was summarily dismissed from her role at AAI. She has since challenged her termination in court, asserting that it was an act of retaliation for exposing institutional failures. Despite personal and professional setbacks, the official continues to pursue legal avenues to compel a regulatory rethink. Her petition underscores the urgent need for transparent, enforceable, and non-negotiable safety standards in India’s rapidly expanding urban aviation hubs.

The Air India crash in Ahmedabad serves as a grim reminder of the real-world consequences of neglecting safety warnings. In the context of Mumbai’s densely built environment, these lapses assume an even more critical dimension. With thousands of passengers relying daily on aviation infrastructure that must function at peak safety, the case brings attention back to the need for rigorous enforcement and ethical vigilance. The issues raised are not merely about rulebooks and bureaucratic procedure; they are about lives, responsibilities, and accountability. In cities like Mumbai, where vertical expansion is inevitable, air safety must not be treated as an afterthought. For a future of safer skies, systemic reform can no longer be deferred.

Also Read: Ahmedabad Hosts Relief Flights From Mumbai Delhi

Mumbai Airport Safety Spotlighted After Ahmedabad Air Crash
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