Wed Mar 19 10:43:10 UTC 2025: ## Delhi High Court Orders Investigation into Soaring Bird Strikes at IGI Airport

**New Delhi, March 19, 2025** – The Delhi High Court has issued notices to several agencies, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India, following a petition highlighting a dramatic increase in bird strikes at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI).

Social activist Gauri Maulekhi’s petition reveals a sharp rise in bird strikes at IGI, with 183 incidents reported in 2022 alone, compared to 94 in 2021 and 62 in 2020. The total number of bird strikes at IGI between 2018 and 2023 (705) surpasses the combined total of 654 incidents reported across 29 airports in six other states. The petition further points out that IGI’s bird strike incidents from 2018 to October 2023 outnumber those at Mumbai and Bengaluru airports combined.

Maulekhi attributes the surge in bird strikes to the presence of numerous illegal slaughterhouses, meat shops, and dairy farms within a 10-kilometer radius of the airport, violating Aircraft Rules, 1937, and the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024. She alleges that these establishments, along with environmental pollution, attract birds to the airport vicinity. The petition states that over 500 such establishments operate illegally.

The petition emphasizes the serious safety risks posed by bird strikes, not only to aircraft passengers but also to nearby residents in the event of a crash. It urges the court to mandate immediate measures to mitigate the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) and implement a Bird Avoidance Model (BAM) at IGI.

The High Court has also issued notices to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. A hearing is scheduled for May 14th. The court will consider the petition’s request for inspections of meat shops and penalties for those violating regulations.

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