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Day after 2 bird hits, DGCA asks airports to minimise risk, prepare for monsoon
The DGCA wrote to all airport operators in the country, underscoring that the presence of birds and animals in and around airports is known to increase during monsoons
Airports across the country must review their hazard management plan for wildlife that poses a threat to aircraft flight safety, the aviation regulator directed on Monday, a day after two Delhi-bound planes, from Patna and Guwahati, had to make emergency landings after being hit by birds.
The presence of birds and animals in and around airports is known to increase during the monsoon season, the Directorate of Civil Aviation noted, and asked private airport operators and state-run Airports Authority of India to take requisite steps to ensure operational safety.
“All airports are requested to review their wildlife hazard management plan for any gap and ensure strict implementation of strategies for wildlife hazard management within and outside the airfield,” joint director general Maneesh Kumar said in a letter to airport operators.
The aviation watchdog listed steps that airport operators should take, such as trimming grass, spraying insecticide in and around airport premises, and deploying bird chasers and bird scaring devices so that no bird is found on or near the runway. Airport operators were also told to conduct frequent runway inspections for avian activity.
Operators must also hold meetings of the airport environment management committees to review measures to reduce bird hazards outside its premises, the directorate said. It told airports to take steps in coordination with local authorities to mitigate sources that attract birds, such as garbage dumps and open disposal of abattoir waste. They will have to keep the regulator posted on the steps being taken.
About 40 bird strikes on aircraft are reported everyday from across the world, according to data available with the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. An average of one incident of birds getting sucked into jet engines is reported everyday.
