• Three-quarters of KIA surrounded by Lake Victoria, whose water and shores provide different resources for birds
• Kenya’s airports had an average of 4.1 bird strikes per every 10,000 flights from July 2018 to April 2019
Image: MAURICE ALAL
Kisumu International Airport has the highest bird strike rates in Kenya.
Kenya Airports Authority MD Jonny Andersen blamed this on its location, saying the incompatible land use in the surrounding area allows the presence of birds and other wildlife. The finding comes against a progressive countrywide decline in the number of strikes over the years.
Three-quarters of the Kisumu airport is surrounded by Lake Victoria, whose water and shores provide different resources for birds. “The airport also happens to be the closest airport to the equator, meaning it is a high avifaunal diversity in bird migration dispersal,” Andersen said.
He said Kenya’s airports had an average of 4.1 bird strikes per every 10,000 flights from July 2018 to April 2019.
“This means about four birds collided with 10,000 aircraft, translating into 0.04 per cent of aircraft having bird strikes,” Andersen said.
A birds strike rate analysis by the authority showed that from July 2017 to March last year, airports had 8.16 per cent bird strikes per 10,000 aircraft movements.
The report added that more than 70 per cent strikes in Kenya are caused by scavenging birds at major dumpsites at Mwakirunge in Mombasa, Dandora and Mihang’o in Nairobi, and Kachok in Kisumu. The Kachok dumpsite is being cleared and the waste relocated onto the outskirts of Kisumu town.
Other land-use activities include fish processing at Kisian and Obunga in Kisumu, open sewer treatment plants at Administration Police Training College and Ruai in Nairobi.
Andersen said such uses pose a challenge and they have endeavoured to bring all sector players together to draft the way forward to enhance safety at the airports, not just in Kisumu but all of Kenya.
He said the recent performance is better than before and is in line with the authority’s endeavour for continual improvement.
The Kisumu airport improved by recording a significant decline in bird strikes from 28.03 to 19.5, Mombasa International Airport from 10.56 to 9.8 Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has maintained a rate of below three, while Eldoret International Airport has maintained below eight strikes per 10,000 aircraft movements.
Andersen said the countrywide increase of bird strikes in the past two months is due to Kenya’s unique bisection by the Equator and its extension from the Indian Ocean sea level to the second-highest mountain in Africa — Mt Kenya. The feature has a significant influence on the number of birds present and as a result, the bird species increase from the temperate region towards the equator and from the coast to optimal levels as altitude increases.
Kenya also gets migratory birds from Europe, Asia and higher latitudes of Africa, it is an established fact that bird strikes increase during arrival periods of Palearctic birds migration (October to mid-December) and when the same birds are leaving from March to May, which overlaps with the long rain period.
A 10-year analysis ( 1991-2001 ) and a 14-yer analysis ( 2005-2019 ) by George Amutete and others show the peaks in the last two months are not out of the normal cycle of bird strikes in Kenya. Amutete says an airport with more aircraft movements has a higher chance or probability of having more bird strikes.
Andersen said KAA stakeholders have been included in each Wildlife Hazard Management Plan. He said those outside the aerodrome play a key role in controlling land use that can influence the presence of birds and other wildlife on flight paths at and around the airports.
Land-use planners and regulators are most critical and include county governments and the National Environment Management Authority.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the regulator of the aviation industry, has given regulations and standards to be maintained to ensure safe aircraft operation at and in the vicinity of airports. It allows the KAA to manage land use with respect to bird hazards within a 13Km radius from the aerodrome reference point.
Despite the rules, however, some land uses, especially dumpsites, are located too close to the airports or on aircraft flight paths or the approach and takeoff funnel. Some dumpsites are placed between conservation areas and airports, resulting in birds crossing flight paths.
Andersen said, however, that not all strikes cause damage but all must be avoided as much as practically possible. Small non-flocking birds (less than 30 grammes) pose no significant danger to aircraft.
A comprehensive data obtained from the national carrier (Kenya Airways) and analysis for the years 2011-2017 show that of all the bird strikes, 81.2 per cent were nondamaging.
It is practically impossible to have zero strikes in any busy airport. Therefore, KAA strategy is to target the species that can cause the most damage and reduce strikes to as low as possible, Andersen said.
To curb threats that lead to emergency landing cases at JKIA, KAA has in place a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan that guides the Wildlife Control Section staff.
The airport has 13 trained permanent employees working on different aspects of wildlife control at and around JKIA. The section has two motorcycles and two all-terrain vehicles for efficient transport in relation to wildlife control duties.
Assorted equipment is available, including propane gas cannon, avian dissuader, laser torches, air guns, signal pistols, paintball guns, visual acoustic balls, Raptor Scares, mammalian traps and herpetological tongs.
"Some airports have installed fixed laser lights and fixed propane cannons but we use portable ones. In terms of bird deterrents, fixed ones get the animals getting habituated to them very fast while mobile deterrents can be relocated to areas where they are urgently needed because birds can be found anywhere and at any time in the airport."
Andersen said there are plans to acquire bird strike avoidance radar that can help visualise birds as far as five nautical miles and warn pilots in advance or for the staff to take appropriate control measures.
About 30 per cent of all the strikes happens outside the airside and out of the vision of wildlife control staff.
There are permanently trained staffs at major twelve airports, equipped and reinforced by identified stakeholders.
(Edited by F'Orieny)