Kolkata airport adopts sonic warfare against bird strikes to enhance flight safety
Times of India | 2 February 2025
Kolkata airport is implementing sonic and ultrasonic sound waves to deter birds and reduce aircraft bird strikes, with confirmed incidents increasing post-pandemic. KOLKATA: Kolkata airport will now deploy sonic and ultrasonic sound waves to scare off birds and prevent aircraft bird strikes. This is crucial to improve the safety of aircraft that fly into and out of Kolkata airport, as many bird hits were recorded by airlines operating at Kolkata airport in recent years.
In the first 10 months of last year, the airport reported 19 confirmed bird strikes and 60 suspected bird interferences.Budget 2025 UpdatesIncome Tax Slabs Budget 2025 Live: How much income tax will middle class taxpayers save? FM Sitharaman's big tax announcements decodedNew vs old income tax regime after Budget 2025: Post income tax slab changes, which tax regime is better for salaried middle class taxpayers?Latest income tax slabs FY 2025-26In the previous year, there were 18 confirmed strikes and 91 suspected interferences. In 2022 and 2021, the numbers ranged in the early 60s. In contrast, pre-pandemic, there were barely 40-50 total instances of bird interference per year.
These numbers have been a cause for worry among airlines, as a bird strike can not only ground an aircraft and cause damages worth several crores, but it is also a potential hazard to flight safety.
In the past, the airport employed bird chasers and also exploded crackers to scare off birds. But with a ban on crackers and bird count shooting up due to market waste being dumped in municipalities around the airport, the airport has now decided to adopt devices that can emit various naturally recorded bird distress signals and predator calls to frighten, confuse, and disorient pest birds and pigeons.
Sources said airport authorities raised the issue of municipalities needing to clean up their act and keep the vicinity garbage and litter-free, but to no avail. Only the Madhyamgram municipality paid heed and kept the garbage dumps clean. The others — Dum Dum Municipality, North Dum Dum Municipality, New Barrackpore Municipality, and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation — presented a sorry picture.
According to officials, pigeons, kites, and lapwings are frequently seen around the airport. Although most bird strikes result in minor damage to the aircraft, the impact can be severe if the bird collides with the plane's windscreen or gets sucked into the engine.
“In case the plane’s windscreen cracks in the middle or inner layer, it can cause problems in maintaining the cabin pressure. The plane runs the risk of depressurising. The pilot then needs to lower altitude to correct the pressure differential,” said an official.
Although it seems to fly in the face of logic that with all that noise and pollution, the sheer number of people and the danger that airports pose should act as a deterrent to birds. Yet birds like airport habitats as they are urban areas surrounded by large tracts of unused, undeveloped land, which acts as a noise and safety buffer for humans, but for birds, it is often the only usable nesting space for miles around.
While in the past, the airport pruned trees and deployed guards to drive the birds and animals away, this time, they are opting for high-tech bird-scaring devices to keep the birds at bay. The AAI has opened a tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of 20 speaker solar-powered unit electronic bird-scaring devices. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7.2 lakhs.
“The equipment shall be capable of working continuously to randomly broadcast at varying frequencies (2,000-10,000 Hz). It shall cover a minimum protection cover of 10 hectares and should be weather-proof and designed in a way that it can withstand outdoor use. The equipment shall be featured with varying sound, duration of calls, and interval of operations to prevent the birds from becoming habituated to distress calls,” said an airport official.