Air India Crash Triggers Renewed Warnings Over Illegal Slaughter Near Navi Mumbai Airport

Mumbai, 13th June 2025: The recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad has reignited long-standing safety concerns regarding illegal animal slaughter activities near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Despite prior advisories issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), slaughter and open sale of meat continue unchecked in Ulwe, just three kilometers from the airport site.

NatConnect Foundation, an environmental watchdog, has once again sounded the alarm over this serious oversight. The organisation’s director, B N Kumar, has urged the DGCA to treat the issue with the gravity it deserves, warning that the presence of slaughterhouses and meat stalls attracts large scavenger birds such as kites, posing a major threat to flight safety during takeoff and landing operations.

With IndiGo and Akasa Air already having signed agreements with NMIA’s operator and the airport nearing operational status, concerns are growing about the lack of preventive measures being implemented on the ground.

Kumar revealed that following a previous complaint, DGCA Director Amit Gupta had informed over a month ago that the aerodrome operator had been advised to take action. However, Kumar lamented that no concrete steps have been taken so far to shut down or regulate the illegal animal slaughter and meat trade continuing in the vicinity.

Adding to the alarm, the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS)—a division of the Airports Authority of India (AAI)—recently issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) listing several issues highlighting NMIA’s lack of operational readiness. The notice outlined 225 obstructions, including 86 buildings, 79 hilltops, 23 power towers, 12 mobile towers, and eight floodlight poles. However, the threat posed by illegal slaughter activities was conspicuously absent from the document.

Following this omission, Kumar raised the issue with the General Manager of AIS, who assured that the matter has been forwarded to the “concerned authorities at NMIAL.” However, no immediate enforcement has been reported.

Ironically, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO)—which both administers Ulwe and chairs the Aerodrome Environment Monitoring Committee (AEMC)—had clearly stated in its official order that no slaughter activity is permitted within a 10-kilometre radius of the airport. Despite this, CIDCO has taken no visible action to curb the ongoing violations.

“We have now escalated the matter to CIDCO’s Chief Vigilance Officer, highlighting this grave lapse in enforcement,” Kumar said in a statement.

As NMIA prepares to open its runways, aviation experts and activists are urging authorities to treat bird-attracting activities around the airport as a critical safety hazard, warning that ignoring such risks could lead to devastating consequences.