Hoardings, dish antennas among 225 obstacles facing Navi Mumbai airport: Report

Despite these challenges, the Navi Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd remains optimistic about progress.

The Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) has identified around 225 obstacles at the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, detailing their type, elevation, and precise location in coordinates.

While it ahs been known that the airport's approach path had obstructions, the Times of India reported that the AIP has now provided a clearer picture of the extent and positioning of these hurdles.

The listed obstacles include a building’s dish antenna (36.3 meters), a grill top (35.8 meters), a staircase room top (34.9 meters), a hoarding top (34 meters), and a parapet wall (31.4 meters). Additional obstructions cited are a pipe top, design top, and ladder top, among others.

Moneycontrol couldn't verify the report independently.

To accommodate these challenges, a "displaced threshold" has been implemented on the runway 26. This means that aircraft approaching from the east will not use the physical start of the runway for landing. Instead, the designated landing point begins 600 meters down the runway, ensuring safer clearance over the obstacles.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) will have to navigate the restrictions posed by the surrounding terrain and obstructions, which could result in limited manoeuvring space for landing and departing aircraft. "The air traffic control would have to deal with the restrictions that come with the terrain and obstructions around. They will have restricted manoeuvring space for the aircraft coming in to land and taking off; it will be cramped," air safety expert Capt Amit Singh was quoted as saying.

Despite these challenges, the Navi Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd remains optimistic about progress. "AIP takes us a step further towards receiving the aerodrome license essential to operationalise the airport," a spokesperson said.