15 mins, 15 flights, 1,500 birds, no bird-hits

Ahmedabad: Saturday morning was probably the most extraordinary day for officials on duty at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) in Ahmedabad.
The city airport, which has been notorious for bird-hits in the past few years, on Saturday witnessed a remarkable coordination by the AAI officials who successfully operated 15 flights by shooing away almost 1,500 birds from the entire runway. Not even a single pilot reported a bird-hit while takeoff or landing.
The flights were operated with a delay of 15 minutes to an hour, after reducing the bird-hit possibility to zero. The delay was welcomed by the pilots and airlines as they were aware of the problems, which would have arisen in case of a hit.
After it stopped raining on Saturday morning, birds descended on the 3.5-km long and 45-metre wide runway to feed on the insects that come out after the rain. The presence of birds in such large numbers, which probably was the biggest bird movement recorded at the airport this year, shocked the AAI officers.
10/07/11 Akshay Kaushal/Ahmedabad Mirror

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Categories: Airports Jul 2011, Safety Jul 2011