To prevent bird strikes, Thiruvananthapuram airport spends Rs 12 crore a year on firecrackers
The airport is located amid a fishing village stretching from Bhima School to Sanghumugham, making it especially vulnerable to bird strikes.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport
CHENNAI: In a bid to prevent bird strikes, Thiruvananthapuram International Airport bursts over 500 firecrackers a day, spending Rs 12 crore annually to scare birds away from the runway and ensure safe take-offs and landings, according to an Onmanorama report.
The airport is located amid a fishing village stretching from Bhima School to Sanghumugham, making it especially vulnerable to bird strikes. Birds flock to the area in search of fish, posing serious risks to aircraft during take-off and landing.
Making matters worse is the open slaughter and unregulated dumping of meat waste near the airport which attracts large numbers of scavenger birds like kites and crows, causing them to come dangerously close to the runway, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The issue was brought to the spotlight again on June 22 when Air India had to cancel a flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi after the aircraft suffered a bird hit on its inbound journey from the national capital. According to The New Indian Express, an estimated 10 aircraft have already been damaged at the airport due to bird strikes this year, as of June 12.
The Thiruvananthapuram airport spends around Rs 3.3 lakh per day to burst the firecrackers and also employs 30 staff exclusively for this task, shelling around Rs 7.2 lakh monthly on salaries, Onmanorama reported. The airport also grows special grass varieties that are less prone to insect attacks and grow up to 50 cm tall, making it harder for birds to rest on the ground in flocks.
It's not just Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport also uses firecrackers to prevent bird strikes. In April, Gujarat Samachar reported that the airport spends an estimated Rs 15-20 lakh annually on them.
Earlier this month, Chennai airport introduced 30 'thunder boom' devices to address similar risks. Surrounded by the Adyar River and forested areas, the airport experiences frequent bird activity that disrupts landings and take-offs. While firecrackers were previously used, they posed fire hazards and environmental concerns. The new devices, operated by trained contract workers near runways, emit thunder-like sounds to safely disperse birds and ensure safer aircraft movement.
