The grounding of the Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight at the Visakhapatnam Airport has again turned the focus on ‘bird hits and preventive measures’ to check the breeding and feeding of various bird species, which flock the large water body right behind the airport.
“The pilot of the IndiGo flight aborted take-off after the bird hit the propeller and applied brakes after covering about one-third of the runway,” said B.K. Rai, who was travelling to Bengaluru along with his family. The airline had arranged another flight to Bengaluru later in the evening.
What would have happened if something had happened after take-off?
In January 2011, the Visakhapatnam–New Delhi SpiceJet flight was diverted to Hyderabad after a bird hit the aircraft soon after take off from Visakhapatnam. The passengers were told of the incident only after safe landing in Hyderabad. The affected flight was grounded there and the passengers were accommodated on another flight to New Delhi.
The Airport Advisory Committee, which has representatives of the Navy, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and representatives of the airline industry with the district Collector as Chairman, meets regularly to discuss various issues pertaining to the airport and the remedial measures needed to be taken.
After the SpiceJet incident, several meetings were held and measures taken to check the dumping of waste, from the chicken stalls in the nearby areas, close to the airport.
The then district Collector had issued a warning to the owners and slaughter houses of action, if they dumped animal waste around the airport.
Experts opine that the presence of the water body as also the formation of temporary pools during the monsoon, as the airport is in a low-lying area, are attracting various species, including migratory ones, to the area.
They suggest filling up of the low lying areas to prevent formation of pools. The authorities concerned have also been taking remedial measures from time to time. The rich bio-diversity of the area is attracting birds like grey falcons, which come for nesting on the ground, purple herons, open bill stork, cattle egrets besides kites and mynahs.
Some of the birds feed on the fish in the pond. The insects and millipedes also attract them. There is not so much bio-diversity around the proposed Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport and birds may not pose such a problem there, feels an expert.
