Sam Adurogboye, a former General Manager of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, writes from Lagos
Bird strike activity poses a challenge to aircraft operations worldwide. This will continue for as long as we have birds flying in the sky. They will. Their existence will remain a challenge, as their activities are inimical to smooth and safe aircraft operations. They are God’s creatures, which humanity will have to live with. The collisions between birds and aircraft occur mainly during takeoff and landing. Birds tend to pass aircraft for another bird and, as such, flock around the flying machines. In the process, they inflicted damage to the engine, resulting in engine failure, windshield damage, or, in rare severe cases, leading to crashes.
United Nigeria Airlines is the latest victim of the bird strike menace in Nigeria. Two of the airlines’ aircraft were grounded on account of damage suffered during a take-off of its Airbus 320 flight UNO 519 out of Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, heading to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The airline recorded four incidents of bird strikes in January 2026 alone. The other operating airlines are not immune either. The same records of birds strike from time to time.
The frequency of bird strikes differs from one airport to another in Nigeria. This is for the simple reason that attractions to birds differ from one location to another. The major attractions to birds are as follows:
Weedy[bushy] airport environment
Dirty pool of water around the airport
Presence of refuse dumps around airports.
Any airport that has the preponderance of the above is likely to have more incidents of bird strikes and the attendant losses to the affected operator, who will have to carry out repairs and maintenance of the incident plane at an exorbitant cost. The repairs are mostly carried out abroad with the attendant foreign exchange component.
Not only are the incident machines[aircraft] repaired, but sometimes passengers of affected airlines have had to be lodged in a hotel, thereby incurring unbudgeted spending and attendant losses regarding the particular flight operations.
In addition, incident planes are flown empty from an incident aerodrome to the airline base. When this happens, another plane is arranged to ferry the passengers of the affected airlines. All these translate to a loss to the affected operator. Where the incidence of bird strikes is prevalent, your guess is as good as mine that airline business in such an environment will certainly not be a profitable venture.
With the high level of construction of about four major aircraft maintenance facilities currently underway at the Murtala Muhammed Airport and some others too in other airports in the country, this is an indication that the economy is looking up and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Barrister Festus Keyamo, SAN, must be commended for bringing to bear in the sector, a purposeful leadership and his supportive of operators’ styles of administration.
However, the same purposefulness should be extended to the taming of the bird strike menace in Nigerian airports, if operators are to prosper from their investment in the sector.
First and foremost, the wild weeds within and around the airfield must regularly be cut down to discourage the birds from turning the airfield in to feeding grounds on insects that are harboured in the weedy field in the airports.
Secondly, airport managers must ensure that all water, whether it is streams or rivers, in and around airports is always kept clean. By doing so, it will not attract birds. Birds are naturally drawn to dirty water.
Thirdly, the refuse dump in the airport community must be situated far away from the airfields. The reason is that birds will naturally be attracted to refuse dumps in search of food.
Fourthly, aviation stakeholders must identify ways and means to collaborate and accordingly take steps to defeat the common enemy, birds.
Fifthly, airline operators must embrace training and retraining of personnel on modern-day systems that are available for the control of birds in airports environment.
Non-lethal methods are used to scare birds away, including propane cannons, pyrotechnics, recorded predators’ calls, lasers, and trained falcons.
Once these attractions are no longer available for the birds, the airport is on the way to overcoming the bird strike menace.