Delhi-Chandigarh flight returns due to unusual bird activity at airport

A Delhi-Chandigarh IndiGo flight had to return due to unusual bird activity moments before landing at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, at 9.15 am on Friday. It came back again and managed to touch down at 11.58 am after the conditions turned favourable.

The departure of a Chandigarh-Srinagar flight, which was scheduled for 9.45 am, was also delayed by around two hours due to unspecified reason.

Airport officials said increased bird activity during monsoon adversely hits flight operations here. Flight delays, and aborted take-offs and touchdowns due to the increased bird activity in monsoon are not uncommon at the airport. "Despite taking all preventive measures at the airport, the safety hazard persists in the surroundings. Recently, we had held a meeting with the district administration in this regard, but conditions are improving gradually," said an airport official.

"The bird menace is not only in the airfield; birds and pigeons can be spotted inside the terminal area too," said a frequent flyer.

On July 7 last year, passengers of the Chandigarh-Ahmedabad flight had a scary experience as their flight had to return before taking off from the runway, leading to a delay of four hours. Passengers had said the flight was on the runway and about to take off when the pilot suddenly applied brakes. Luckily, the aircraft remained steady and came to a halt in seconds.

Chairing a review meeting with the departments concerned and Air Force officials on September 12, Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal said, "Complete elimination of bird flying in the airfield area is non-negotiable for aviation safety. Any negligence will not be tolerated."

ADC (Urban Development) Anmol Singh Dhaliwal, Mohali SDM Damandeep Kaur, Dera Bassi SDM Amit Gupta and Mohali MC Assistant Commissioner Ranjeev Kumar were directed to undertake immediate on-ground measures.

Over the years, Pabhat, Bishanpura, Kandala, Badhmajra and Jagatpura villages have been identified as the problem area. Air Force authorities have repeatedly flagged the issue in every meeting with the administration.

According to the data of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, incidents of bird hit are on the rise here. Two such incidents took place in 2018. In 2019, there were three, two in 2020, 16 in 2021 and 15 in 2022 and 23 in 2023.

The situation is particularly alarming in monsoon as the wild growth increases around the airport, attracting birds in search of insects, food and vegetable waste. Officials said bird dispeller, sound guns and other methods are used to keep the airfield clear.

The district administration, along with Greater Mohali Area Development Authority and the office of the District Development and Panchayat Officer, have been ensuring that there are no meat shops in Bhabat and Jagatpura areas, but gaps remain.

Local residents said meat shops had been shut and garbage dumps cleared, but dense migrant population here lead to sporadic dumping of garbage and vegetable waste.

The biggest garbage dump adjoining the airport boundary wall in Kandala has been cleaned, but heaps of garbage come up once it gets dark.

Vinod, a roadside vendor in Kandala, said, "People come and throw cartloads of waste here even as we warn them against it. Labourers putting up here in one-room accommodations refuse to pay Rs 100 to garbage collector, and dump waste here and there. The administration needs to strengthen garbage disposal mechanism here."

The cleaning and covering of the Jagatpura drain and solid waste management, two major sore points, have a lot of scope for improvement. There is some progress at the Kandala dumping ground and an animal carcass disposal site near a water body.

Frequent strikes by sanitation workers of the Zirakpur Municipal Council is yet another problem. The door-to-door garbage collectors were again on strike today. "You can imagine where the garbage will go today," said Suresh Kumar, a Bhabat godown area resident.