Indications have just emerged that about 93 bird strike incidents occurred across the country’s airports in the first half of 2022 out of which the Murtala Muhammed Airport recorded 54 of such incidents.
According to the statistics given, while the 93 bird incidents were recorded as of September 17, 2022, 32 of them occurred in just two months.
The Head, Bird/Wildlife Hazard Control at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr Azike Edozie drooled this hint at the workshop organised by the Search and Rescue Mission of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) on Wednesday in Lagos.
Edozie while decrying the high incidents arising from bird strike incidents across the airports, however, put the responsibility of keeping the airspace safe from bird strike incidents on every stakeholder in the sector, including airline operators, security agencies and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Expressing optimism that the respective agencies would find a lasting solution to the menace soon, Ezike lamented how the airlines were losing millions of dollars to the incident annually saying: “My record shows that we have had at least 93 bird strike incidents in all our airports between January this year to June. And out of this number, 54 of it happened in Lagos Airport alone, which represents about 70 per cent of the total occurrences. We all have to proffer a solution to this menace and I do hope we have a lasting solution to it because everyone, especially the airlines is losing money.”
In his own presentation, Head of Unit, Bird Control, FAAN, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, Mr Adetunji Adetutu pointed out that no airline was immune from the incident of bird strikes, but added that FAAN being the landlord of the airports was doing its best to curb the spread of the incident through the procurement of modern equipment, which he said had gone a long way to reduce its impacts.
Blaming some of the pilots for the high bird strike rates, Adetunji accused the pilots of always being in a hurry to depart one airport for the other in violation of the instructions of Air Traffic Controllers (ATC).
While insisting that it was necessary for the airlines and their pilots to also have a change of culture by adhering to the instructions issued by ATCs, the wildlife expert declared that 98 per cent of bird strike incidents occurred at the airports, especially when taking off and landing.
His words: “The final say on what happens to the aircraft lies with the pilots. Until the ATC gives clearance for pilots to depart or land, it is necessary for pilots to listen to their advice. Airline operators should have a change of culture in how we carry out our duties. It’s the suitability of the environment that bring birds to the airport environment. We have water, shelter and food around the airports. The runway should be free of activities at take-off and landing.”
Equally, the Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator for NAMA, Mr Olanrewaju Iwalaye emphasized the need for all stakeholders to curb the actinides of bird strike incidents at the airport with the procurement of advanced equipment.
Pointing out how FAAN had in recent times improved with the procurement of equipment to reduce the incidence, Iwalaye added that the same programme was simultaneously going on in all the major airports across the country, including the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Omagwa, Aminu Kano International Airport (AKIA), Kano and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Port Harcourt.
“We need to find a way to address this challenge. Birds are in their natural habitat and most of our airports are built close to the forest. Apart from birds, we also have wildlife animals, which are also struck. We hope to propose mitigation in order to address it. We also need to know the activities of birds too.
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