THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the nation mourns victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, an alarming number of bird-hit incidents is posing a threat at Thiruvananthapuram airport (TIAL).
The airport has recorded over 239 bird strike incidents between 2018 and 2024. Open slaughtering and unregulated dumping of slaughter waste near the airport have been attracting a large number of scavenger birds like kites and crows dangerously close to the runway posing a serious risk to aircraft during takeoff and landing. The city corporation is unable to rein in illegal slaughtering and waste dumping due to the lack of a slaughterhouse.
This year, around 10 bird hits were reported at the airport from January until June 12, said a spokesperson of TIAL.
As per an RTI query, from October 2023 to March 2024, a span of less than 6 months, around 28 bird strikes were recorded; the highest in the last three years. The airport authorities had taken up the issue with the government urging it to shut down illegal slaughtering and control open dumping around the airport.
Vallakkadavu ward councillor Shajida Nazar said around three or four large animals are getting slaughtered daily close to the airport. “They keep this livestock in the revenue land close to the Ponnara bridge near the airport and this is attracting scavenging birds close to the airport and they do open slaughtering. We have decided to fence the revenue land which is open. There are many families residing in this encroached land and we are not evicting them,” said Shajida.
She said funds for constructing the fence have been released by the Adani airport. As per the Aircraft Rules, 1937, activities that attract birds such as open slaughtering, sale of meat/fish, and waste dumping are strictly prohibited within a 10 km radius of the airport. “Non-compliance could result in cancellation of the airport’s operational permit.
Numerous near-miss incidents and confirmed bird hits/strikes have been reported at the airport,” Sajeev SJ of Environmental Protection and Research Council (EPRC), an NGO which has taken up the issue with various departments. He said even after raising the issues the civic body has failed to act.
With pressure mounting from the state government, Director General of Civil Aviation and Adani Airports, the city corporation has stepped up surveillance. Corporation secretary S Jahangir told TNIE that a special team has been deployed for daily monitoring and a WhatsApp group has been formed by including officials from the corporation, Adani airport, and representatives of the traders for effective monitoring of waste dumping.
“This system has been active since last September and the number of bird strikes has reduced significantly. Few of the incidents happened at night and not because of this issue,” he said, The corporation secretary said that the modern abattoir will be commissioned by July first week and will help end illegal slaughtering in the corporation area.
“To prevent dumping of food waste, we are doing door-to-door collection in 12 wards in the surrounding areas of the airport and it is being disposed of in a rapid composting system at Kalladimugam,” said S Jahangir.