Birds threatening flights at airport

By Philip Mwakio

Mombasa, Kenya: Planes landing or taking off at Moi International Airport (MIA), Kenya’s second largest, face a growing danger of bird strikes from two dumpsites in its vicinity.

Bird strikes or avian ingestion is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a vehicle, especially an aircraft.

The strikes pose a significant threat to flight safety and has caused a number of accidents and casualties.

In an exclusive interview with The Standard yesterday, MIA manager, Mr Yatich Kagungo said that the Kibarani and the Mwakirunge dumpsites are a cause of growing concern as they attract wild birds into the airport’s flight path.

Kenya Airports Authority and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority have objected to plans to make Mwakirunge dumpsite, Africa’s first ever sanitary landfill for waste disposal.

“Its location, which is about 20 kilometres from Mombasa, is on our flight path and this could interfere with aviation procedures,” Kagungo said in the interview.

Yesterday, Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho said there is no cause for alarm but declared that “the dumpsite shall not be moved.” He acknowledged that “there is a dispute between us and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority but we are negotiating.”

According to the governor, his administration has entered into negotiations with the World Bank and French government to establish an ultra-modern garbage disposal and processing facility at Mwakirunge at a cost of Sh1.5 billion.

“The dumpsite shall not be moved because after the construction of this disposal facility the problem of scavengers and birds shall not be there at all,” said Joho.

Meanwhile Kagungo said that airport authorities have set up a unit of trained bird scouts and invested in equipment to scare off the animals.

“We have also involved stakeholders in and around Mombasa including abattoirs and the Mombasa County government,” he said.