September 21, (THEWILL) – No fewer than 93 birdstrike incidents have occurred across Nigerian airports in the first half of 2022.
Out of the number, 54 of such birdstrike incidents happened at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos alone.
Birdstrikes cause severe safety threat to air navigation and when it occurs, airlines usually lose huge sums of Dollars to such incidents.
For example, that a typical birdstrike could affect the aircraft’s nose; that is the cone, where the radar is. This costs about $400,000; it could destroy the engine, where you have the turbine blade, the thrust and the boroscope.
Speaking at the the workshop organised by the Search and Rescue Mission of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), on Wednesday, in Lagos, Mr Azike Edozie, Head Bird/Wildlife Hazard Control, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), decried the high incidents arising from birdstrike incidents in the industry.
Edozie, however, said that the responsibility of keeping the airspace safe from birdstrike incidents lied with every stakeholder in the industry, including airline operators, security agencies and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
He expressed hope that the respective agencies would find a lasting solution to the menace soon, decrying that airlines were losing millions of dollars to the incident annually.
He said, “My record shows that we have had at least 93 birdstrike 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 percent 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 are losing money.”
Also, Mr Adetunji Adetutu, Head of Unit, Bird Control, FAAN, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, in his presentation, pointed out that no airline was immune from the incident of birdstrikes.
Adetutu explained that FAAN as the airport landlord 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.
He also blamed some of the pilots for the high birdstrike rates in the industry, stressing that some of the pilots were always in a hurry to depart an airport for the other and violate the instructions of Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), 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.
According to him, 98 percent of birdstrike incidents occurred at the airports, especially when taking off and landing.
He said, “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 on 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. Runway should be free of activities at take off and landing.”
He emphasised further that most of the birds that cause havoc at the airports migrate from other continents to Africa at a particular time of the season.
Also, Mr Olanrewaju Iwalaye, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, NAMA, said it was necessary for all stakeholders to curb the actinides of birdstrike incidents at the airport with the procurement of advanced equipment.
Iwalaye, however, observed that FAAN, had in recent times improved with the procurement of equipment to reduce the incident.
He 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), Abuja.
“We need to find a way to address this challenge. Birds are in their natural habitats and most of our airports are built close to the forest.
“Apart from birds, we also have wildlife animals, which are also strikes. We hope to propose on mitigation, in order to address it. We also need to know the activities of birds too. Statistics that was given earlier indicates that 93 bird incidents were recorded as at September 17, 2022, but 32 of this occurred in just two months.”
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
