Why don't you apply night flying restrictions at airports, asks NGT

New Delhi: Why is night curfew not implemented for flights to and from airports across the country, the National Green Tribunal asked on Tuesday as it directed aviation regulator DGCA to provide data on flights landing at the IGI Airport at night.

Taking the government to task over lack of norms on noise pollution in residential areas near airports across the country, the NGT asked "why should there not be night flying restrictions at airports."

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the government to file a short note on the steps taken by it to notify noise-level standards for airport noise zones. It also asked Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to give a break-up of flights landing in the night between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM at the IGI airport.

"What steps have you introduced to curb noise pollution in residential areas near airports so that people are not disturbed? Why should there not be night flying restrictions at airports? You give a short note on these aspects", the bench said.

The government told the bench it was adopting various aircraft noise mitigation measures like Continuous Descent Approach and mixed mode approach to bring down noise levels at airports.

Continuous Descent Approach or Optimized Profile Descent is a landing method designed to reduce fuel consumption and noise compared to other conventional descents.

NGT had earlier expressed displeasure over government's failure to fix environmental norms on noise pollution and directed Environment Ministry, DGCA and Central Pollution Control Board to convene a meeting and take a clear decision on the issue.

The green panel was hearing a bunch of pleas filed by the residents of South Delhi's Vasant Kunj, Bijwasan and Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC), a super-speciality hospital located near the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

The pleas alleged that the noise created by aircraft at the IGI airport was affecting the health of the residents of nearby areas. The hospital has claimed that the noise created by planes were usually between the range of 75 and 94 decibels, which was "clearly beyond the stipulated standards laid down under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000".

The Supreme Court had last November referred the matter to NGT, saying the parties would not claim any interim order before the tribunal.