Fly peacefully; at Chennai no bird hits for yr now

Chennai: If you're flying in or out of Chennai, you can probably sit back and relax as there have been no bird hits around the airport since last February.
After a JetLite aircraft sustained a bird hit soon after taking off from Kolkata for Guwahati on Saturday morning and a US Airways Airbus landed on the Hudson river on Friday after flying into a flock of geese, travellers may worry about avian activity around the city airport.
But the last reported incident was when a bird hit the engine of an Indigo Airlines aircraft soon after take-off in February last. Fears of bird strikes returned when the left wing flap of a Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft was recently found damaged during a routine inspection. However, officials heaved a sigh of relief after it was confirmed that the hit occurred en route and not while landing."We haven't had any bird hits after we introduced a series of measures to control avian activity near the airport. We also employ people to scare birds," said airport director K Natarajan.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an MoU with the government to ensure that avian activity does not affect aircraft movement near airports. AAI has carried out intensive awareness programmes telling restaurant owners and residents not to litter, while local body officials were told to prevent the opening of slaughter-houses near the airport.
19/01/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009, Safety Jan 2009