Manchester Airport's Strategies For Bird Control And Management

Manchester Airport is surrounded by woodland and water, creating a haven for wildlife. However, birds entering jet engines is a serious safety issue for the aviation industry. As a result, Manchester Airport has a meticulous bird control operation in place 24 hours a day to keep its runways clear for planes. This includes playing recordings of birds in distress to scare them away.

Bird strikes: Birds entering jet engines is an occasional occurrence in aviation, and crews train to handle it

Bird strikes are an occasional occurrence in aviation, and crews train to handle them. Birds entering jet engines is a rare but serious issue that can cause engine vibration, as in the case of a Thomas Cook Airlines flight from Glasgow to Palma, which had to make an emergency landing at Manchester Airport.

Manchester Airport is surrounded by woodland and the River Bollin runs underneath part of its second runway. Running adjacent to the far tips of the two runways are large drainage ponds, which collectively create a perfect haven for wildlife. To keep the runways clear for planes, there is a meticulous and expert bird control mitigation operation in force 24 hours a day.

One method used to keep birds away from the runway is to play recordings of bird species in distress from speakers attached to the roof of a ranger truck. This scares the birds away from the runway.

Anecdotal evidence from airfield operations teams at Manchester Airport suggests that the reduction in flights during the COVID-19 pandemic affected the prevalence, apparency and behaviour of certain species of airfield wildlife. Quieter runways and taxiways may have offered a more attractive habitat for birds, free from human disturbance and ground-based predators.

Bird control: A 24-hour bird control mitigation operation is in force to keep runways clear

Bird control is a meticulous and expert operation at Manchester Airport. A 24-hour bird control mitigation operation is in force to keep the runways clear. The airport is surrounded by woodland and the River Bollin runs underneath part of its second runway. Running adjacent to the far tips of the two runways are large drainage ponds, which all collectively create a perfect haven for wildlife. To keep the runways clear, the airport uses recordings of bird species in distress, played out from speakers attached to the roof of a ranger truck to scare the birds away. Birds entering jet engines is something that does occasionally happen throughout the aviation industry and crews train regularly to handle it.

Bird behaviour: During the pandemic, anecdotal evidence suggested that reduced air traffic movements resulted in quieter runways, which may have offered a more attractive habitat for birds

Manchester Airport is the UK's third busiest airport, handling 29.4 million passengers and 202,892 total air traffic movements. It is surrounded by woodland and the River Bollin runs underneath part of its second runway. Running adjacent to the far tips of the two runways are large drainage ponds, which create a perfect haven for wildlife.

Bird strikes are a common occurrence in the aviation industry, and crews train regularly to handle them. During the pandemic, anecdotal evidence suggested that reduced air traffic movements resulted in quieter runways, which may have offered a more attractive habitat for birds. This is because the reduction in noise and disturbance may have encouraged certain species of wildlife to behave in new and unanticipated ways. For example, birds may have been attracted to the quieter runways, free from human disturbance and ground-based predators such as foxes, badgers, mink and domestic cats.

To mitigate the risk of bird strikes, Manchester Airport has a meticulous and expert bird control mitigation operation in force 24 hours a day. This includes playing recordings of bird species in distress from speakers attached to the roof of a ranger truck to scare birds away from the runway.

Bird deterrents: Recordings of bird species in distress are played from speakers to scare birds away from the runway

Manchester Airport is surrounded by woodland and the River Bollin runs underneath part of its second runway. Running adjacent to the far tips of the two runways are large drainage ponds, all of which create a haven for wildlife.

To keep the runways clear for planes, the airport has a meticulous and expert bird control mitigation operation in force 24 hours a day. One of the methods used is playing recordings of bird species in distress from speakers attached to the roof of a ranger truck. This scares the birds away from the runway.

The reduction in air traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in quieter runways and taxiways, which offered a more attractive habitat for birds, free from human disturbance and ground-based predators.

Bird habitat: The airport's surroundings, including woodland, a river, and drainage ponds, create a perfect haven for wildlife

Manchester Airport is surrounded by woodland, with the River Bollin running underneath part of its second runway. Running adjacent to the far tips of the two runways are large drainage ponds. Together, these create a perfect haven for wildlife.

The airport has a meticulous and expert bird control mitigation operation in force 24 hours a day to keep the runways clear for planes. Birds entering jet engines is something that does occasionally happen throughout the aviation industry, and crews train regularly to handle it.

The reduction in air traffic movements during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in quieter runways and taxiways, which offered a more attractive habitat for birds, free from human disturbance and ground-based predators including foxes, badgers, mink and domestic cats.

To scare birds from the runway, recordings of bird species in distress are played out from speakers attached to the roof of a ranger truck.

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