The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has disclosed that a total of 93 bird airstrikes were recorded across airports in the country in the first six months of 2022.
Lagos had the highest number of airstrikes with 54 incidents that happened at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA).
The high rate of bird strikes according to the NCAA often leads to airlines spending huge resources to replace engines damaged by such incidents or other parts of the aircraft that hit the birds.
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They disclosed that Airlines also lose revenue running into millions of naira when such damaged aircraft are grounded, waiting to be repaired and taken into the air again, which could take weeks.
This was disclosed by Head Bird/Wildlife Hazard Control NCAA, Azika Edozie while speaking at a workshop organized by Search and Rescue Mission of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).
He said: ”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 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.”
He further stated that the responsibility of keeping the airspace safe from bird incidents lied with every stakeholder in the industry, including airline operators, security agencies, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
He however disclosed that he is optimistic that the agencies in charge will provide a lasting solution to curb such incidents from occurring, as these airlines lose millions of dollars annually.
Also, commenting on this is Adetunji Adetutu, Head of Unit, Bird Control, FAAN, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos in his presentation, emphasized the fact that airstrikes were unavoidable as no airlines are immune from experiencing such
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 pointed out that some pilots of these airlines are to be blamed for the high rate of airstrikes, stating that they were always in a hurry to depart an airport for the other and violate the instructions of Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) and insisted 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.
In 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 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.”
“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 indicate that 93 bird incidents were recorded as of September 17, 2022, but 32 of these occurred in just two months.”
It is imperative for the NCAA to take the necessary measures to curb these airstrikes because they distort flight schedules, threaten airspace, and cost a lot of money to fix affected aircraft.