Overview
- Airport authorities stopped issuing entry passes and suspended congregational prayers over the weekend, with Gate 8 closed and CISF and police deployed to enforce the curbs.
- The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security formally objected to devotees entering the high‑security operational area using only Aadhaar or standard ID, prompting the immediate pass suspension.
- Airports Authority engineers say the mosque sits roughly 150–165 metres from the secondary runway, forces an about 88‑metre displaced landing threshold, shortens usable runway length to about 2,832 metres and prevents installation of advanced ILS navigation equipment.
- State and central officials have started identifying an alternative site and moving the mosque, a plan backed publicly by several BJP leaders but opposed by the mosque committee and TMC figures who demand prior consultation and legal review.
- The shrine predates the airport and has been the subject of relocation talks for decades; authorities say work to shift the structure could begin in the coming months, and local worshippers now face indefinite disruption to regular prayers.