In a bid to tackle the menace of bird strikes at airports across the country, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, has inaugurated the International Civil Aviation Organisation Wildlife Hazard Control Equipment.
Kuku inaugurated the equipment on Friday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.
She said one of the major challenges faced by the current FAAN team on the assumption of office was the threat of bird strikes on the operation of the airlines.
Kuku, represented by the Director of Airport Operations, Abdullahi Mohmood, pointed out that FAAN, having seen how dangerous bird strikes can be to safety over the years, decided to enhance its equipment to fight the threat posed by ‘wildlife’ to air safety.
Mohmood said, “Today, we have received the equipment from ICAO and we are going to commission it and after commissioning distribute it to the various airports across the country where it will be properly utilised in mitigating wildlife hazards that are facing us daily.
“Most of you are fully aware of recent happenings, where we had so many incidences of bird strikes but fortunately at least, it did not lead to an accident unlike other places even if it is not an accident, sometimes you find serious damage to the engines of the aircraft and the airline face serious challenges in flight in form of disruption. Sometimes, it causes a lot of disruptions, ranging from flight delays to cancellations.”