MIAA to shoo birds away with P45M sound device

The Manila International Airport Authority on Tuesday said that they are planning to acquire a sound device that will frighten away birds from the airfield, thus preventing bird strikes on aircraft. The sound device is worth P45 million.

MIAA’s airport grounds operations and safety division chief Joseph Agustin said that the new device has two powerful speakers, and it will replace the sirens currently used.

 The sound device should be in place before February 2013.

 Apart from the sound device, the airport authority is also planning to invest some P23-million to cover an artificial pond found between the runways. The artificial pond absorbs the excess water coming from the runway, thus preventing their flooding.

 According to Danish ornithologist Arne Jensen, water from the pond attracts birds. “Normally, you don’t have wetland inside the airport because it attracts birds,” Jensen said on Tuesday, at the sidelines of an on-site visit at the airport.

As of August, about 49 bird strikes have been recorded since January.

Currently, and aside from the sirens, the airport uses pigeon-hawk replicas, and starter pistols to get rid of the birds. They also have falconers that fly their birds-of-prey at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s grounds.

Read on:  http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/279428/news/metromanila/miaa-to-shoo-birds-away-with-p45m-sound-device

Airport authorities, bird advocates in collision course over sanctuary

The skies seem big enough for both planes and birds, but apparently not around airports. 

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado said they have recorded some 50 bird strikes in the skies around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this year.

None have caused any crashes or major damage to planes, but enough of a scare to cause Honrado to join a chorus against birds, particularly migratory birds stopping over in a green pocket of wilderness near the airport, a government-protected bird sanctuary in Manila Bay.

"It is almost impossible to recover the carcass of the birds, but based on observations, talagang yung mga ibon na nakatira diyan sa sanctuary sa may Las Piñas-Parañaque area are the main causes and the main source of the bird strikes within the MIAA area of responsibility," he said.

Philippine Airlines president Ramon Ang has called for the removal of the sanctuary, while Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez supports a study to determine the fate of the sanctuary, also known as the Las Piñas-Parañaque coastal lagoon or Freedom Island. The natural stopover for migratory birds was proclaimed the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009.

The removal of the sanctuary would require the repeal of the Arroyo proclamation by President Aquino, who has not indicated a position on the matter.

Honrado warns that the issue is not bird protection but public safety. "I'm not an expert on species of birds, but the mere fact na nandoon nga ‘yung sanctuary sa tabi namin talagang it causes a big problem. Are we going to wait until may maaksidente diyan?" he said.

Continued: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/275362/news/nation/airport-authorities-bird-advocates-in-collision-course-over-sanctuary