Pilot flying into Surat reports laser flash in cockpit, second such incident in 15 days

Around 11 pm on Saturday (July 11), the pilot of an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Surat with 168 passengers on board reported a distraction as the aircraft came in to land.

A powerful beam of coloured light, similar to the laser beacons that are sometimes used at outdoor parties and concerts, swept through the night sky above Surat, momentarily lighting up the flight deck.

This was the second time in a fortnight that a pilot coming in to land in Surat had reported a laser beam distraction on the flight path.

On both occasions the source appeared to be Katargam, a bustling suburb of the city about 17 km northeast of the airport.

Police are now investigating the source of the beams on both nights.

“We do not yet know who was responsible for the lasers on the flight path,” S C Bhalse, Director of Surat International Airport, told The Indian Express.

“There may have been a party or a marriage event in the Katargam area where these lights may have been used, and they may have fallen on the aircraft in the sky. We have intimated the Katargam police to probe. After the person or place is identified, we will take strict action,” Bhalse said.

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Laser beacons, which are also known as sky lasers or landmark lasers, are high-power, very low-divergence laser systems that project bright, tightly focused beams into the night sky which, especially in the absence of fog or haze, can be seen up to 10 kilometres away.

Sky laser beams are often a fluorescent yellow-green, which is the colour most visible to the human eye, and are commonly used to attract attention from far away.

The previous incident was reported on June 27, police and airport officials said. The pilot of an IndiGo flight, also from Delhi and coming in to land in Surat late in the evening, saw the laser – reported at the time as a beam of brilliant green light – as the aircraft approached the runway.

“It is not clear whether any individual is responsible, or whether the laser was from an event, party, or social gathering in an open plot. We have contacted all the open party plots in the Katargam area, and are investigating the details of the events that took place on June 27 and July 11, Katargam Police Inspector L R Gohil said.

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Surat International Airport is located on the Magdalla-Dumas Road, about 7 km from the famous black-sand Dumas beach in the southwestern part of the city, close to where the Tapi river falls into the sea. Katargam is a residential and commercial neighbourhood bound by the Tapi on three sides, and is home to several diamond cutting and polishing units. The new airport terminal was inaugurated in 2009, and serves the 6 million people of Surat city, as well as large parts of South Gujarat, with an estimated population of 12 million.

Air India Express officials in Surat were not available for a comment on Saturday evening’s incident.

Sky lasers are large, fixed-installation beam systems that are used for visual signalling over long distances; they are not the same as handheld laser pointers that are easily available on the Internet and in shops for about Rs 1,000. However some handheld pointers – which are typically used in presentations – too can reach up to 5 km away.

Sky lasers can be a serious hazard to aviation. A laser beam striking the flight deck of a low-flying passenger aircraft can cause temporary flash-blindness for the pilot, which can be dangerous during critical flight phases such as takeoff and landing. A laser beam that is narrow at the source can, due to atmospheric scattering and beam divergence, light up a much larger area thousands of feet up in the air.

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Aiming any laser at an aircraft is illegal in most countries. In the United States, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations provide for fines and imprisonment for violators. The Air Navigation Order in the United Kingdom and the Aviation Safety Rules of the European Union impose similar restrictions.

The National Aviation Safety Plan 2024-28 of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says: “Laser interference during critical phases of flight poses a significant hazard and can jeopardize the safety of the aircraft. It can cause distractions, temporary blindness, and startling effects for the pilot. A total of 144 cases of laser interferences were reported in India for the year 2023 during landing and take-off in India.”

Several dozen instances of laser interference have been reported in Chennai in 2024 and 2025.