Bhubaneswar: Several sky lanterns drifted towards the flight path of approaching aircraft near Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) during Diwali celebrations on Sunday night, triggering concern among pilots and prompting airport authorities to alert the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and local police.According to airport officials, no aircraft was hit and flight operations remained unaffected. However, the incident exposed the risks posed by festive activities near airport operational zones.Officials said multiple sky lanterns released during Diwali were spotted rising towards the approach path used by aircraft preparing to land at the city airport. Some pilots of IndiGo flights reportedly expressed concern after noticing the lanterns in the vicinity while descending.Airport authorities immediately informed the ATC and alerted the nearest police station after reports of the lanterns entering the flight corridor. Officials said continuous monitoring was undertaken to ensure safe aircraft movement during the festive period.On Monday morning, airport personnel recovered more than 100 used sky lanterns from various parts of the airport’s operational area. “We found about a hundred used sky lanterns that had fallen on the operational areas of the airport and some even very close to the parked aircraft. During the recent Ravan Podi celebration also crackers had come close to the flight’s approach path,” BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan said.Sources at the airport said many of the lanterns appeared to have been released from areas such as Baramunda, Khandagiri and Jagamara, localities that lie on the aircraft approach routes. Some lanterns reportedly rose to considerable heights before being carried away by the wind towards the airport zone.Aviation experts have repeatedly cautioned that sky lanterns, drones and fireworks near airports pose serious risks to aircraft, especially during take-off and landing, when pilots have limited room for evasive action.