A flock of birds colliding with an aeroplane can cause serious damage to it. (Photo Credits: Reddit)
Airports around the world use a number of ways to scare away the birds by using firecrackers, loud sounds, or installing a bird radar system.
Over the years, the aviation industry has excelled in making aeroplanes safe against a number of glitches or emergencies. However, the big planes are still threatened by the original flyers, aka birds. Most bird-plane collisions do not harm the aeroplane much, however, if a plane collides with a flock of birds or a big bird like a Dalmatian pelican then it can seriously jeopardise the safety of the plane. In 2017, an AirAsia plane had to reroute and make an emergency landing after it reportedly collided with a flock of birds.
Airports around the world use a number of ways to scare away the birds by using firecrackers, loud sounds, bright LED screens, or installing a bird radar system. Now, a video, taken on the runways of Mumbai airport that shows professional “bird scarers” shooting firecrackers to scare away the birds, has gone viral. This undated video was shared on Reddit. The caption of the video read, “Aaj Maine Jaana, that Mumbai airport employs people to throw firecrackers in the air to scare the birds away from the runway.”
This post got over 500 upvotes in less than a day. Commenting on it, a Reddit user wrote, “Yes it is quite common especially at Air Force bases as it makes the birds go far from the base so it doesn’t disrupt any Aerial manoeuvres. If a bird gets in the way it could lead to a very bad situation for the pilot, aircraft and especially the bird.”
Another person wrote, “All airports do this one way or another. A bird hit during take-off or landing can be disastrous.” People also joked that they would love to have this job. Making this point, a Reddit user wrote, “Finally, I found a job that I was born for.” Similarly, another person remarked, “Finally my homies can have their dream job.”
According to Conde Nast Traveller, Salt Lake City International Airport in the USA, deploys pigs to eat up gull eggs to curb their population near the airport. The Southwest Florida International Airport keeps border collies to chase away herons and egrets from the runway. France’s Lourdes-Tarbes-Pyrénées airport has put up big LED screens to scare away raptors. Some other airports like Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Istanbul Airport use advanced radar systems to track the movement of big bird flocks. The air controllers activate air cannons if they see a flock within a few miles of the airports.
