Over 500 Bird Hits, 400 Technical Snag Reported By Flights In India Between Jan-Nov 2023

In 2023, 500 bird-aircraft collisions occurred, and domestic airlines reported 406 malfunctions. IndiGo led with 233 cases, followed by Air India and SpiceJet.

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As many as 500 incidents of bird hits involving aircraft have been reported in various states in the first ten months of this year. Alongside, domestic airlines reported 406 instances of aircraft malfunctioning in the first 11 months of this year, according to the government. From January to November 2023, IndiGo reported 233 instances of aircraft malfunctioning, while SpiceJet reported 44 such cases. Air India reported 52 instances of malfunctioning of aircraft, followed by the now-grounded Go First (22), Akasa Air (20), AirAsia (India) Ltd (15), Vistara (13), Fly Big (5) and BlueDart Aviation (2).

In 2022, these airlines had reported 542 instances of malfunctioning of aircraft.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has laid down regulations under Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), which requires that the aircraft is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer and DGCA guidelines, and all snags reported on the aircraft are rectified before it is released for flight, he added.

Talking of aircraft bird hits, the highest number of incidents has been recorded at Delhi airport during the last three years, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

According to data shared by the minister as part of the written reply, there were 169 bird-hit incidents in Delhi during January-October 2023.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued regulations and guidelines for the management of potential wildlife hazards at licensed airports.

"Rule 91 of The Aircraft Rule 1937 prohibits dumping of garbage and slaughter of animals that may attract wildlife within 10 km of Aerodrome Reference Point. Aerodrome Advisory Circular AD AC 06 of 2017 has been issued to aerodrome operator for implementing an effective wildlife control mechanism for their aerodrome to control wildlife strikes.

"Civil aviation requirement Section 4 Series B Part 1 deals with Aerodrome Design & Operations and requires aerodrome operators to take necessary action to identify, manage and mitigate the risk of aircraft operations posed by wildlife by adopting measures to mitigate the risk of collision between wildlife and aircraft," Singh said.

He also said that Aerodrome Advisory Circular AD AC 01 of 2022 has been issued to identify the gaps and ensure strict implementation of a plan for wildlife hazard management, on and in the vicinity of Aerodrome.

"This also requires the aerodrome operators to determine high-risk areas and take appropriate action to manage the potential wildlife hazard.

"Compliance of the regulation and guidance issued for Wildlife Hazard management is being done through annual Surveillance inspections of the aerodrome," he added.