To secure PM house,new airspace plan

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to submit a new airspace plan with a proposed buffer zone around the Prime Ministers Race Course residence which will be considered by the Indian Air Force....

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to submit a new airspace plan with a proposed buffer zone around the Prime Ministers Race Course residence which will be considered by the Indian Air Force (IAF). This decision to extend the prohibited airspace in the Capital is part of an exercise to secure strategic locations.

The Prime Ministers residence falls on the periphery of a rectangular-shaped prohibited airspace where civilian and military flights are forbidden. Officials said it was felt that in the event of an aerial attack,the IAF will have no time to react since there is no buffer zone around the prohibited airspace,designated in aviation parlance as VIP 89.

In case an aircraft flouts airspace norms,it will be able to directly enter the no-fly VIP 89 zone. This raises a serious security challenge for PM House as the Air Force hardly has time to respond in case there is such a violation, said a senior official of the Civil Aviation Ministry.

Heightened security concerns have made this move necessary,the official said. Included in the current VIP 89 are Parliament House,Rashtrapati Bhawan,North Block and South Block. Some vital installations like the Mathura refinery and a nuclear power plant have been secured under VIP 90.

What exactly will be the dimensions of the enhanced airspace is not yet known but an AAI official told The Indian Express that the change is unlikely to affect civilian aircraft movement in a significant manner. There will be minor route circumvention for civilian aircraft movement, an official said.

In recent times,there have been at least three incidents involving breach of prohibited airspace,including one where an aircraft flew over the PM House area.