Ayodhya Air Funnel Zones
AAI
Overview
Ayodhya airport height restriction zone rules apply to every plot within 20 km of Maharishi Valmiki International Airport (IATA: AYJ), operated by AAI on NH-27 near Naka, Faizabad. The airport opened in December 2023 and is undergoing a Rs 1,625 crore expansion to handle 6 million passengers annually. Any structure in this radius requires a height clearance NOC from AAI before construction begins.
Ayodhya Airport Funnel Zone Rules That Can Invalidate Your Building Plan
Most buyers near Naka and Faizabad assume their plot is fine because a local broker gave verbal clearance. It is not fine until AAI says so in writing. Two facts matter here: where your plot sits relative to the runway and the total height of your proposed structure measured from mean sea level (AMSL), not from the ground.
Height Restrictions Within the Ayodhya Funnel Zone
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (Height Restrictions for Safeguarding of Aircraft Operations) Rules, 2015 (GSR 751E) govern every structure within 20 km of the Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP) of Maharishi Valmiki International Airport. The airport funnel zone, the most restrictive surface, runs along the runway approach and departure paths. Inside it, permitted building height equals 2% of the distance from the runway edge. So a plot 1,000 meters from the runway end has a ceiling of just 20 meters AGL. The table below shows how height limits shift across the main OLS zones.
Runway Strip (No-build)
Distance from Runway / ARP
0-500 m
Max Permitted Height
No construction
NOC Required?
Yes, mandatory
Inner Horizontal Surface
Distance from Runway / ARP
Up to 4 km from ARP
Max Permitted Height
45 m AGL
NOC Required?
Yes
Conical Surface
Distance from Runway / ARP
4-8 km approx.
Max Permitted Height
Increases 1 m per 20 m distance
NOC Required?
Yes
Outer Horizontal Surface
Distance from Runway / ARP
Up to 15 km
Max Permitted Height
Up to 300 m AMSL
NOC Required?
Yes
Peripheral Zone
Distance from Runway / ARP
15-20 km
Max Permitted Height
No hard cap, but monitored
NOC Required?
Yes
Airport Funnel (Approach path)
Distance from Runway / ARP
Aligned with runway ends
Max Permitted Height
2% of distance from runway edge
NOC Required?
Yes
Zone
Distance from Runway / ARP
Max Permitted Height
NOC Required?
Runway Strip (No-build)
0-500 m
No construction
Yes, mandatory
Inner Horizontal Surface
Up to 4 km from ARP
45 m AGL
Yes
Conical Surface
4-8 km approx.
Increases 1 m per 20 m distance
Yes
Outer Horizontal Surface
Up to 15 km
Up to 300 m AMSL
Yes
Peripheral Zone
15-20 km
No hard cap, but monitored
Yes
Airport Funnel (Approach path)
Aligned with runway ends
2% of distance from runway edge
Yes
AAI measures height in AMSL, not floors. A plot at higher ground elevation in Naka can breach the Permissible Top Elevation (PTE) even with a three-story building. If your plot is in a red grid on the CCZM (Color Coded Zoning Map), local bodies cannot approve the building plan at all. You must file through NOCAS directly. Roughly 40% of height clearance NOC applications nationally are rejected by AAI. Get the NOC before the registry, not after.
Naka, Usru and Faizabad Bypass: Which Corridors Face the Tightest Limits
The airport sits at Naka and Usru villages on NH-27, with Faizabad Junction just 6.8 km to the north-west. Plots in these localities sit closest to the ARP and therefore carry the strictest height ceilings. Darshan Nagar sits further east toward Ayodhya City and has attracted plotted development; its greater distance from the runway gives slightly more headroom, but it still falls within the 20 km NOC radius.
The table below maps the corridors buyers are most actively targeting and the key risk factor in each.
Naka (airport village)
Distance to ARP (approx.)
0-2 km
Primary Height Risk
Funnel zone: extreme restriction
ADA Master Plan Zone
Transport / Airport use
Usru Village
Distance to ARP (approx.)
Adjacent to airport
Primary Height Risk
Inner horizontal surface limit
ADA Master Plan Zone
Airport buffer
Faizabad Bypass Road
Distance to ARP (approx.)
5-8 km
Primary Height Risk
Conical surface rules apply
ADA Master Plan Zone
Mixed-use / Commercial
Darshan Nagar
Distance to ARP (approx.)
8-12 km
Primary Height Risk
Outer horizontal surface
ADA Master Plan Zone
Residential
NH-27 Corridor toward Ayodhya
Distance to ARP (approx.)
10-15 km
Primary Height Risk
Peripheral zone, monitored
ADA Master Plan Zone
Residential / Commercial
Corridor / Locality
Distance to ARP (approx.)
Primary Height Risk
ADA Master Plan Zone
Naka (airport village)
0-2 km
Funnel zone: extreme restriction
Transport / Airport use
Usru Village
Adjacent to airport
Inner horizontal surface limit
Airport buffer
Faizabad Bypass Road
5-8 km
Conical surface rules apply
Mixed-use / Commercial
Darshan Nagar
8-12 km
Outer horizontal surface
Residential
NH-27 Corridor toward Ayodhya
10-15 km
Peripheral zone, monitored
Residential / Commercial
The most misunderstood corridor is the Faizabad Bypass Road. Brokers pitch it as "airport-adjacent" for connectivity premium but rarely mention that plots here sit inside the conical surface. A four-floor apartment that looks compliant with local bylaws can still breach AAI's AMSL ceiling. Always request the Permissible Top Elevation from NOCAS for the exact survey coordinates before paying the token amount.
Data Source & Verification
Source
Official Airports Authority of India (AAI) / Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) documents
Official Website
aai.aero
Coordinate Reference System
EPSG:4326 (WGS 84)
Geometry Type
Polygon / MultiPolygon
Data Format
Raster Tiles (from GeoTIFF)
Last Verified
2026
Status
Active