Bird strikes on the rise at Dhaka airport

Authorities at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport are struggling to deter birds from the runway due to hundreds of open garbage spots and food-water sources in the areas surrounding the airport.

There are many dense bushes around the airport area, which provide a good habitat for grasshoppers and butterflies that attract various birds to HSIA.

Bird or wildlife strikes often lead to flight cancellations and sometimes even damage aircraft engines. In the worst-case scenario, it can even lead to crash landings.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Air Vice Marshal Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan said, "We are taking every possible measure, but it's a big challenge to deter birds due to uncontrolled waste and garbage being dumped in the areas surrounding the airport."

Annually, airlines around the world bear around $1.2 billion in costs due to bird strikes, according to aviation websites.

Due to a bird strike on its second engine, a Turkish Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing at HSIA yesterday.

"We have asked Dhaka North City Corporation authorities to close down all open sources of food and water surrounding the airport." Air Vice Marshal Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh

The flight, carrying 11 crew and 280 passengers, was going to Istanbul. All the passengers, crew, and the aircraft are safe, said Turkish Airlines.

The aircraft, TK713, had to return shortly after a successful take-off due to a bird strike on its engine 2.

According to the Dhaka Airport Traffic Control, immediately after take-off, its engine 2 caught fire.

The plane was grounded due to an Aircraft on Ground situation, following the emergency landing at HSIA.

"We have asked Dhaka North City Corporation authorities to close down all open sources of food and water surrounding the airport," Bhuiyan said. 

Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, executive director of HSIA, told The Daily Star that they use different active and passive measures to drive away birds.

"Two bird shooters remain vigilant at each side of the runway in shifts from sunset till 8:00pm. We also use machines that emit certain frequencies to deter birds. We also use gas cannons," he added.

During a recent programme at CAAB headquarters, Prof Anwarul Haq, who is leading a three-member committee to detect seasonal occurrence of birds in and around the HSIA, said bird strikes are a common occurrence in airports around the country.

Haq suggested a combination of modern and conventional measures to deter birds.

He also said airport authorities should take measures to encourage birds to seek alternative nesting and feeding grounds by removing food sources such as seed-bearing plants and insects.

Top flight safety officials from various airlines have expressed concern over bird strike hazards at HSIA and called upon the regulators to take proper actions to address the threat.

At the programme, Capt Intekhab Hossain, deputy chief of flight safety at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, placed 10 statistics of major incidents due to bird strikes in one year since May 2023.

Capt AAMA Shahsuzzaman, head of safety management at US-Bangla Airlines, said, according to statistics from International Air Transport Agency, from January 2023 to October 2024, the average rate of bird strikes out of 1000 flights at HSIA is 1.73, whereas the rate is 0.5 in other international airports.

Capt Kamrul Islam, head of safety at Air Astra, said jet engines are particularly vulnerable to such incidents.