India’s aviation is booming. Therefore, a second major airport is now being built near Mumbai. But there is a problem. Experts are sounding the alarm and attesting to an acute bird strike problem.
India’s aviation is booming. Airlines in the country announced several large orders in quick succession. Air India ordered 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing. The fledgling Akasa Air bought 72 Boeing 737 Max and Indigo is planning another big order.
This is also evident in domestic traffic. According to figures published by the Indian aviation authority DGCA, around 12.5 million passengers flew within India in January alone. The country’s airports are reaching their capacity limits. Air India’s home airport, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, handled over 50 million passengers last year.
Indian airports are reaching their capacity limits – new airport should relieve them
The airport is hopelessly overcrowded. That is why a second airport has been under construction in the Mumbai region since 2018. Navi Mumbai International Airport is scheduled to open in late 2024 and will initially be able to handle 20 million passengers per year. After its completion in 2032, the airport’s capacity is expected to be 90 million passengers per year.
Aviation experts are now pointing out a security risk in the project, which has now cost around two billion dollars: bird strikes. Because there are two large bird sanctuaries in the vicinity of Navi Mumbai International Airport. These are a starting point and feeding place for several species of migratory birds. In addition, a large population of flamingos lives nearby, reports the TZ broadcaster Al Jazeera.
Expert considers the location of the new airport to be “very dangerous”
SM Satheesan, an expert on bird strike prevention, thinks the new airport’s location is “very dangerous”, especially when it comes to collisions with the large birds. “Now the flamingos will wreak havoc at the Navi Mumbai site, where there is a flamingo sanctuary nearby,” the expert told Aal Jazeera.
BN Kumar, head of the environmental association Nat Connect, takes a similar view: “Migratory birds are very loyal to their location”. Therefore, the wetlands must be preserved to prevent the birds from venturing into the airport grounds. Around 1160 hectares of mangrove forests will be cleared and drained for the construction of the airport.
Airport spokesman rejects concerns
A spokesman for the new Mumbai airport dismissed concerns the site could be vulnerable to bird strikes. The nearby Karnala Bird Sanctuary is not in the flight path. In addition, the airport company has developed alternative breeding grounds for the birds in the area. The only question that remains is whether the birds will accept the artificially created places.
This article was written by Benjamin Recklies