NEW DELHI: " Zara dekh ke udaao". This is the government's warning this Uttaryan, but not to people flying kites around airports but to pilots flying in and out of those airports!
The
Airports Authority of India
(AAI) has issued a notice to airmen (Notam) for Ahmedabad airport warning pilots of "kite flying in day and lighted
kite flying
in night in and around the airfield due to
Uttarayan festival
. Pilots to exercise caution while arrival and departure." The Notam is valid from last Friday to Monday.
While the Notam is for Ahmedabad, pilots say they have to be on the look out for kites while flying in and out of several airports in western India like Indore, Vadodara, Surat, Udaipur and even Mumbai this time of the year. Kite flying peaks around
Makar Sankranti (celebrated as Uttarayan in Gujarat), Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan in several parts of India.