Tackling winged menace at airport

Sharma,the son of a farmer from Bihar,alternated between a slingshot and a stick to scare away or kill birds at his farm. At the airstrip,however,he is equipped with firecrackers and not allowed to kill. “I can only scare the birds away. I cannot run after them,throw things or kill them because that would attract other birds to the airport which could be dangerous,” he says.

No special skill is required for the job. The recruits,however,are put through an intense 10-day workshop where they are briefed about the airport’s layout,taxiway,airside,access zones and off-limit areas,besides training in using firecrackers. “I would have never imagined a bird could pose such risks to an aircraft. But we have to be alert since we are the last line of defence between a disaster and smooth landing,” said another bird chaser.

In January,the airport entered into an annual agreement with a new company,Trendsetters,for bird chasers. With three runways,there are 42 catchers on duty in one shift — they are placed along the runway shoulders on either side. Each bird chaser is equipped with three types of firecrackers: a sutlee bomb,a medium-intensity sparkler and a high-intensity one.

“Each bird chaser is handed a box of firecrackers,” says Peter Noyce,COO,Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). Accompanying the bird chasers is a gunman,equipped with a double barrel rifle to fire an empty shot when needed.

“When crackers are ineffective,I fire a single shot in the air to scare off the creature. Eagles and kites are the most stubborn,” said Gurbaksh Singh,a gunman who is also an ex-serviceman.

Bird chasers are not alone
The team of bird chasers is only a part of the ground group formed to combat avian menace. A team of three ‘follow-me vehicles’ (of a fleet of seven) is also deployed along the three runways. Each vehicle is equipped with an altimo (a radar that plots the location of birds); vehicle-mounted scarecrow device that stores distress sounds of birds like eagles,crows,mainas and blackhead gulls,it is played frequently to scare away stubborn birds,and laser torches that emit a disturbing green light at the birds.

“These vehicles constantly patrol the runway area and any bird chaser can flag down a vehicle when he needs assistance,” Noyce adds.

Science behind keeping birds away
“Birds seek three things at an airport: food,water and shelter. If we cut down these factors,it will reduce presence of birds at the airport,” Noyce says.

In 2008,Dr John Allen,an ornithologist from the University of York,UK,was commissioned by the IGI authorities to conduct a Birdstrike Avoidance Study to plot various areas in the airport frequented by birds listing the reasons for the same. The airport uses the study as a guide for its bird-fighting exercise.

IGI bird-hit ratio
1.77 for 2007
1.56 for 2008

(Figures for 2009 still not compiled)

As per International Civil Aviation Organisation norms,for every 10,000 landings one bird hit is a decent mark

Other methods used
* Silver flutter strips along runway area — its shimmer distracts birds during the day; poly-carbonate spikes along window ledges,runway lights prevent birds from perching and pesto gels along window edges make birds stick to it
* Using zon guns on the grassy patches — they emit a burst of gas in 30-second intervals and automatically inflatable scarecrows
* Three compactors collect waste from 164 plastic bins along the air side. Housekeeping staff also collects plastic wrappers carelessly dropped by passengers and employees