NEW DELHI: A whopping 2,000 bird and animal hits on aircraft have been recorded annually in the last two years across the 20 airports which have recently emerged as the busiest in the country. However, the number appears to be decreasing this year, as just 641 such hits have been recorded so far in the first five months.
Data shared by the DGCA, reveals that there were 1,633 bird/animal strikes in 2022 at these airports. It soared to 2,269 in 2023 and dipped slightly to 2,066 in 2024.
Delhi appears to bear the maximum brunt of such strikes, averaging over 400 incidents annually in the last three years. It had 442 strikes in 2022, 616 in 2023 and 419 in 2024, the data shows. In 2025, it has recorded 95 hits so far.
Ahmedabad is the second most impacted airport. Although it recorded only 80 hits in 2022, the figure more than doubled to 214 in 2023 and 201 in 2024.In the immediate aftermath of the June 12 Dreamliner crash near the airport, the initial theory circulating was a shutdown of both engines due to a bird strike in the prolific presence of the winged creatures in the area.
To effectively tackle the bird-animal menace at the airports, the first meeting of the National Wildlife Hazard Management Committee was recently convened at the DGCA headquarters in Delhi, under the chairmanship of its Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai. Representatives from all airports and airlines across the country participated.
The presentation by DGCA revealed one startling aspect – deficiency in identification of bird species at all airports. “Only in 24% of strikes that took place was the bird species identified,” its officials said.
Delhi International Airport Limited officials said bats have emerged as a major threat at IGI. “Techniques like black light trap, pole pigeons, night vision binoculars, bat detection device, Avian Defenders and deploying a team of biologists were being done to mitigate their presence,” an official said.