CAAP to provide bird avoidance technology

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will provide bird-avoidance technology to eight major airports at the country as part of the Aquino administration’s “open skies” policy.

CAAP director-general Ramon Gutierrez said he is proposing a P15 surcharge on local airfare tickets to finance the multi-million projects.

“The P15 fee is about 35 cents in US dollars, which we think is reasonable enough,” Gutierrez said, adding that the surcharge would last for about 10 years.

The total cost of the project is still being evaluated, and the CAAP would soon provide the ceiling price for a public bidding, which it would announce in some major publications.

Bird strike incidents has become a concern in the aviation industry during the past few years due to its frequency and the large amount of damage incurred by some local carriers.

An operator usually spend about P5 million in repairs for engines damaged by bird strike, according to airline sources who requested not to be quoted so as not to alarm their passengers.

Actually, present-day engines are designed to “eat” birds up to two kilograms in weight, but multiple bird strikes or flocks of birds getting swallowed by engines still pose major threats to airplanes and passengers.

The vast majority of bird strikes occur during takeoff and landing at airports around the world.

Unfortunately, there is no “single bullet” that can prevent the establishment of bird colonies around airports. Since the 1990s, an effort to establish newer airports in areas away from wetlands has helped mitigate the likelihood of strikes, including control of the environment around the airport, such as the destruction of food sources and large trees.

Gutierrez said an electronic bird avoidance system is being offered by a foreign manufacturer for P200 million per piece. It could either be rented or paid in tranches. To be effective, he said two units should be installed in each airport.

“Those are very expensive equipment which we could not afford at the moment,” he said after viewing a presentation.

The new technology uses a radar system, independent of those used by air traffic controllers, to detect and track hazardous bird activity at commercial airports, military airfields and bombing ranges. The information gather are relayed by air controllers to pilots resulting in reduced bird strikes, increasing safety and reducing aircraft damage.

At the moment, the CAAP is providing technical support for bird avoidance for the eight provincial airports that would soon be opened to foreign air carriers participating in the open skies regime.

These airports are in Laoag, Clark, Subic, Davao, Iloilo, Zamboanga, General Santos and Palawan.

He said provincial airport managers are advised to locate garbage dumps far away from the runway, either to discouraged foraging and nesting and to lure them away from heavily trafficked areas.