Bird strikes threaten aviation safety

For anxious passengers pondering over all the things that could possibly go wrong with a plane during flight, bird strikes rarely register as a significant aviation hazard. However, the feathery threats can trigger unfortunate accidents when their population near the runway is not controlled.

According to sources from civil aviation, from 2018 to 2022, 198 incidents of bird strikes were reported at the Allama Iqbal International Airport while 622 were reported across the country. In 2022, 57 PIA flights were affected by bird strikes, with the highest number reported from Lahore, where five planes were damaged. In the first six months of 2024, 38 PIA planes collided with birds across the country, of which 14 incidents were reported in Lahore, where 28 more incidents took place between 2024 and 2025.

Globally, comprehensive SOPs are implemented at airports to prevent bird collisions. Under Annex 14 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all countries must report bird strike incidents and include them in the Bird Strike Information System (IBIS). Around the airport, all the factors that attract birds should be identified and remedied, such as waste, garbage, crop residue and water bodies. In Pakistan, this is rarely the case.

According to Former Director Civil Aviation Lahore Zakawat Hassan, the Lahore Airport has the largest green cover of 2,000 acres, where tall trees allow birds to nest. “In order to prevent bird strikes, it is necessary to have cleanliness both inside and outside the airport. Rats, rabbits, insects and stagnant water attract birds. It is important to eliminate the presence of birds in the 13-kilometer loci around the airport however, there are high-rise buildings, meat sellers and dumping sites, which continue to attract birds. Bird zones have been formed in the past and steps have been taken to stop the nesting of birds but unfortunately, they have not been fully implemented,” said Hassan.

In view of the increasing incidents of bird collision with planes at the Lahore Airport, ring fencing has been done around the flying and landing routes by declaring the surrounding 8 kilometre area as a "no bird zone". Experts suggest that a permanent solution would involve environmental and bird hazard management, which must eliminate all attractive elements such as meat, waste and open water. Concurrently, it is imperative to develop an integrated system to keep birds away through modern resources such as ultrasound devices, sound devices, lasers and avian radars.

The world's major airports keep birds away with noise-generating devices, crackers, lasers, trained dogs and avian radars. In some situations, lethal measures are also taken on a limited scale, while pilots are given specific flight instructions to avoid accidents during hazardous stages like takeoff and landing, when bird strikes are quite likely.

Ali Ejaz, Deputy Director of the Environment Protection Agency Lahore affirmed that aerial surveillance and digital mapping had been intensified in the no-bird zone. “So far, notices have been issued to 293 people dealing in birds, while 72 pigeon traps and cages have been eliminated from rooftops, and 106 chicken shops and 76 solid waste sites have been closed,” said Ejaz.

According to Deputy Chief Wildlife Rangers Lahore Adnan Ali Virk, more than 1,800 cattle nests have been destroyed so far and this process is continuing daily. EPA sources have further revealed that after monitoring the activities of birds through digital mapping, the number of bird disturbance cases around Lahore Airport has come down by about 40 per cent.