Limited flights but bird strike incidents rise at airports in ’21
NEW DELHI: Indian airports saw a significant increase in bird and animal strike incidents in 2021, despite the limited number of flights operating in the country last year because of travel restrictions imposed following the coronavirus outbreak.
Bird and animal strike incidents are considered one of the most potent threats to flight operations. In August 2019, a flock of seagulls struck the engines of Ural Airlines’ Moscow-Simferopol flight, following which the plane crash landed in a cornfield, injuring 74 passengers.
There were 1,466 bird strike incidents (a 27.25% rise) and 29 animal strike incidents (a 93.33% increase) in 2021 across Indian airports as compared to 2020, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA’s) data.
The increase in bird and animal strikes at the Indian airports are 19.47% and 123%, respectively more than in 2019.
One of the major factors behind the increase in the number of bird and animal strike incidents in India during 2021 could be that the airports were quieter than usual because of the limited number of flights amid the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to government officials. Quieter airports attract more birds and animals, they noted.
The second Covid-19 wave had hit India hard in April-June 2021. The number of monthly domestic passengers dropped to just 21.15 lakh in May 2021 and only around 10% of international flights were operating in India during April-June 2021, the officials stated.
In 2020, there were 1,152 bird strike and 15 animal strike incidents at the Indian airports, according to DGCA. In 2019, there were 1,227 bird and 13 animal strike incidents and in 2018, there were 1,214 bird and 19 animal strike incidents at Indian airports, it said.
DGCA, in a 2018 circular, had said that the presence of wildlife on and in the vicinity of an airport poses a “serious threat” to aircraft operational safety.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the “main reason” for these incidents is “urbanisation around the airport, improper waste management, butcheries near the airport, open drains in surrounding areas etc. which are the main source of attraction of food or water for birds or animals”.
There were 276 bird strike incidents and 12 animal strikes at
AAI-run airports in 2019-20 whereas during 2020-21 there were 225 bird strikes and five animal strikes, it said. “During these years there is no increase in the bird strike and animal strike incidents at the AAI-run airports,” it added.
The AAI runs more than 100 airports across the country. However, major airports such as in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram are run by private operators.