Chennai: There was a minor blaze at the Chennai airport on Wednesday when a grass patch caught fire from crackers thrown near the runway to scare away birds.
Two flights were affected due to the incident, airport sources said.
Officials at Airports Authority of India (AAI) said fire crackers are routinely used to scare away birds to avoid accidents caused by them. “Around 11 a.m., crackers thrown near the runway set the grass patch on fire. One fire tender was immediately pressed into service and the fire was put out. No one was injured in the incident. Also, flight movements were delayed only by a few minutes,” an official said.
Birds hitting aircraft or flying in their path are a constant source of trouble at the airport. Though the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a circular last year to avoid the usage of crackers to scare away birds, it is very much in practice. “What other options do we have to keep away the birds? We have to either use bird scare guns or crackers,” he said.
In September last year, an IndiGo flight was hit by a bird after it landed, according to AAI officials.
19/02/15 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu
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Two flights were affected due to the incident, airport sources said.
Officials at Airports Authority of India (AAI) said fire crackers are routinely used to scare away birds to avoid accidents caused by them. “Around 11 a.m., crackers thrown near the runway set the grass patch on fire. One fire tender was immediately pressed into service and the fire was put out. No one was injured in the incident. Also, flight movements were delayed only by a few minutes,” an official said.
Birds hitting aircraft or flying in their path are a constant source of trouble at the airport. Though the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a circular last year to avoid the usage of crackers to scare away birds, it is very much in practice. “What other options do we have to keep away the birds? We have to either use bird scare guns or crackers,” he said.
In September last year, an IndiGo flight was hit by a bird after it landed, according to AAI officials.
19/02/15 Sunitha Sekar/The Hindu
