A tragedy waiting to happen.

Byline: MALIK TARIQ ALI - Lahore

Pakistan's transport industries must offer citizens safe and reliable transportation within the country's geographical boundaries and beyond.

All civilian airports were built far away from residential areas and were usually located in cantonment areas, which until the late '70s were free from commercial activities, housing societies, plazas, and marriage halls, etc. Unfortunately, today, all these airports experience frequent bird hazards which pose a threat to any aircraft especially in the initial stages of take-off or approach. I shudder to think of the catastrophic loss of human life not just to those aboard, but also those residing in the housing societies that have mushroomed on the periphery of all our civil airports.

ICAO regulations recommend that a fifteen kilometre sterile zone, with height restrictions, must exist around every airport, a clear violation of which can be observed within our society. Recently, an aircraft crashed into a residential area within Karachi, short of a few...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT