Credai-Bengaluru Urges HAL to Relax Height Restrictions Around City’s Defence Airport
Credai-Bengaluru has called on Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to ease building height restrictions around the city’s defence airport. The restrictions have stalled over 1,300 projects, hindered vertical growth, and driven up real estate prices in core areas.
Real EstateHeight RestrictionsCredaibengaluruHalUrban DevelopmentReal EstateSep 29, 2025
In a recent letter to HAL, Credai-Bengaluru emphasized the need to reassess non-operational airspace zones and consider releasing them for urban development where feasible. The letter, dated September 1 and addressed to HAL chairman DK Sunil, urges HAL to allow aeronautical studies to assess and grant safe, practical exemptions wherever applicable.
Government regulations cap the height at 150 meters for defence airports and 300 meters for civilian airports within a designated radius. For the HAL airport in Bengaluru, the imposed ceiling is 1,037 meters above mean sea level up to a 20-km radius of the airport. Given that Bengaluru is around 900 meters above mean sea level, this restriction effectively limits the permissible height to around 150 meters.
According to an aviation expert, within 4 km of the aerodrome reference point (ARP), the maximum height allowed is 45 meters above the aerodrome elevation. Beyond 6.1 km and up to 20 km from the ARP, the maximum allowed height remains flat at 150 meters above the aerodrome elevation. For civil airports, the height restriction beyond 9.1 km is flat at 300 meters above ARP up to 20 km.
These height restrictions have left projects in central areas such as Indiranagar, Domlur, Koramangala, Whitefield, and MG Road scaled down or stalled. The curbs are stifling the city’s natural growth trajectory, creating artificial scarcity in core areas, inflating peripheral prices, and pushing growth to locations like Hebbal, Yelahanka, and Devanahalli, Credai claimed.
The industry body estimates that HAL’s regulations have delayed about 1,300 projects, while land in centrally connected zones remains locked. As a result, property prices in northern suburbs like Devanahalli have surged by 50% in 2024-25, a speculative spike the industry blamed on HAL’s restrictions.
Credai also noted that HAL units in Nashik, Hyderabad, and Koraput follow central rules without additional restrictions. Bengaluru-based HAL, along with the air force and the Centre for Airborne Systems, uses the airport in the middle of the city as a test facility for defence purposes, which may explain the stringent height restrictions imposed around the airport.
In response to ET’s questions, an HAL spokesperson stated that clearances are issued up to the permissible top elevation. HAL’s airspace is used for military test flying by defence establishments, and as a defence aerodrome operator, HAL issues non-objection certificates with additional conditions for test flights. The Airports Authority of India, the agency that manages state-run civil airports, conducts aeronautical studies to explore the possibility of increasing the building height cap, but this is applicable only to civil aerodromes and not relevant to the HAL NOC procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main issue Credai-Bengaluru is facing with HAL?
Credai-Bengaluru is facing issues with HAL's building height restrictions around the city’s defence airport, which have stalled over 1,300 projects, hindered vertical growth, and driven up real estate prices in core areas.
What does Credai-Bengaluru propose to HAL?
Credai-Bengaluru proposes that HAL reassess non-operational airspace zones and consider releasing them for urban development where feasible. They also suggest allowing aeronautical studies to assess and grant safe, practical exemptions.
What are the current height restrictions around HAL's defence airport?
The current height restrictions around HAL's defence airport in Bengaluru are 1,037 meters above mean sea level up to a 20-km radius of the airport, effectively limiting the permissible height to around 150 meters due to the city's elevation.
How have these restrictions affected property prices in Bengaluru?
The height restrictions have created artificial scarcity in core areas, inflating peripheral prices and pushing growth to locations like Hebbal, Yelahanka, and Devanahalli. Property prices in northern suburbs like Devanahalli have surged by 50% in 2024-25.
What is HAL's response to Credai-Bengaluru's request?
HAL has stated that clearances are issued up to the permissible top elevation and that their airspace is used for military test flying by defence establishments. As a defence aerodrome operator, HAL issues non-objection certificates with additional conditions for test flights.
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