New Delhi: As swarms of locusts pass through several states destroying standing crops, the Indira Gandhi International Airport in national capital braces for the air travel disturbance caused by the short-horned grasshoppers. According to reports, a special alert has been issued and all airlines have been advised to exercise caution during take-offs and landing.
Large swarm of locusts on the aircraft windshield is known to impact the pilot's vision which can cause problems during landing, taxiing and take-off.
In a statement, the aviation regulator had said that locusts are generally found at lower levels of atmosphere and therefore pose a threat to aircraft in the critical landing and take-off phases of the flight.
"All pilots are required to share information on location of locust swarms if they sight any during a flight. As far as possible, it is strongly advised that flights should be avoided through any known locust swarm," it had said.
The regulator also directed pilots to make entry in the pilots defect log in case they fly through a locust swarm, giving details of any malfunction experienced and ask the engineering crew to conduct checks prior to the next flights.
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