The Civil Aviation Authority’s report on bird strikes in recent years shows an alarming picture. Air travel is touted as safe, but the picture that emerges from the report should send alarm bells ringing at the highest levels of government. Lahore has got a really bad problem, with 198 bird strikes in the reporting period, January 2018 to May 2022, out of the total 622 incidents. Bird strikes occur because birds are sucked into jet engines, and not only do they cause damage to the engines, but they endanger the plane, and may cause a crash. Such a major incident has not happened, which only increases the risk of the next bird strike leading to a major incident. It would be bad enough if this was to happen to a Pakistani airline, but if a foreign carrier was ever involved in such an incident, it would be disastrous, and might well lead to the cancellation of flights to that airport. There should be no mistake: Lahore may be the worst, but other large airports, like Karachi, Islamabad and Peshawar, are also pretty bad.
Why do birds congregate around airports? Actually, they don’t. They congregate around the rubbish in the cantonments that surround these airports, which are actually extensions of old airbases. Lahore has got a particular problem because not only has a DHA been developed, but a number of housing societies have been developed close to the airports, this having been one of their main selling points.
One of the most essential factors is to ensure that the Solid Waste Management Company to do its job. Bird strikes would not be eliminated, but they might be reduced. Thev root-and-branch solution would be to shift the airport, and impost a ban on construction within a certain radius, but it is probably not likely, because moving an airport is an extremely expensive proposition. A more feasible solution would be to hand over management of Lahore airport to a firm with experience in dealing with bird strikes at other airports, If it felt that Lahore Airport needs to be managed by the government, such a transfer can be temporary, until the necessary skills are passed on to the CAA. This is a problem that can be solved. It only needs the will.
