Laser strikes near airports test India’s aviation safety net
(DGCA), and the matter was later raised in Parliament.Laser strikes near Indian airports have jumped sharply, rising from 122 cases in 2023 to over 500 in 2025, data tabled in Parliament show. The incidents pose a direct safety risk to pilots and highlight weak enforcement of rules that strictly prohibit such activity that endangers life or safety.As per data, 502 laser-related disruptions were reported across 22 airports in 2025, slightly lower than the 528 incidents recorded in 2024.
Nearly 30% of the laser beam incidents were reported from Delhi in 2025, with incidents rising from 110 in 2023 to 144 in 2024 and 147 in 2025.Mumbai, which had reported no such cases in 2023, recorded 17 incidents in 2024 and 33 in 2025. While Chennai and Kolkata reported declines between 2024 and 2025—from 67 to 54 and 72 to 44 respectively, both airports logged zero incidents two years earlier.The issue is not confined to large hubs.
Smaller airports such as Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Kochi have also reported fresh spikes, ranging from roughly 50% to more than 150% between 2024 and 2025.Under India’s aviation safety norms, areas extending up to about 18.5 km from an airport fall within designated laser-restricted zones. However, enforcement is largely dependent on local police.Responding to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha on 12 March, junior civil aviation minister Murlidhar Mohol said “Rule 66 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 restricts the display of laser lights or any other lights which may dazzle or distract pilots or otherwise interfere with aircraft operations.”“DGCA has published CAR (civil aviation requirements) which prescribe requirements for protecting aircraft operations against the hazardous effects of laser emitters around
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