According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 34 cases of bird hits were reported at Ahmedabad airport between January and October 2009, the highest at any airport in the country.
What a difference a few months can make! The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, which experienced an average of three cases of bird hits every month last year, has reported only five such incidents in the first six months of the current year.
According to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 34 cases of bird hits were reported at Ahmedabad airport between January and October 2009, the highest at any airport in the country. In fact, DGCA had termed Ahmedabad airport as critical in the wake of increasing number of bird hits.
Considering the seriousness of the situation, Ahmedabad airport authorities and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) undertook various remedial measures to keep the birds away and make the airport safer for passengers.
"We are using zone guns and laser guns to scare the birds from the vicinity of the airport. Reflective sheets have also been installed in the operational area to keep birds away," said Anuj Aggarwal, director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, told DNA.
Aggarwal said that focus is also being laid on keeping the airport and surrounding areas clean. According to DGCA data, there were 26 incidents of bird hits at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in 2007, while it was 21 in 2008, while the instances rose drastically in 2009.
Officials said that firearms are also used occasionally to keep the birds away. Moreover, a team of bird chasers has been deployed at the airport, who chase away the birds with crackers. The AMC has also taken various steps to remove bird menace from the airport's vicinity. The civic body officials undertook steps to reduce bird population in the area by focusing on solid waste management.
Deputy health officer in North Zone, Chirag Shah, said that AMC had started a drive to educate denizens on how their habit to dispose solid waste in the open was attracting more birds near airport. More than 10,000 pamphlets were distributed in areas adjoining the airport, even as AMC issued notices to over 500 eateries to manage their solid waste properly.
"We also started door-to-dump garbage collection wherein solid waste collected from a citizen's house is directly taken to the dump site. No garbage is dumped in the open in and around the airport. Solid waste management has played crucial role in managing bird population around the airport," said Shah. The efforts seem to have borne fruit, as according to airport officials, only five instances of bird-hits have taken place at Ahmedabad airport in 2010.
"We have been able to improve the situation significantly due to the use of innovative techniques. We will continue to focus on the various measures to prevent bird hits," said SC Hota, joint GM (ATC), Ahmedabad airport, said.
Bird hits are a significant threat to flight safety. According to experts, most bird hits happen during take-off or landing, or during low altitude flight.
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