Big data is helping Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lower the risk of bird strike, adding to patrols and barriers set up to protect airplanes from dangerous collisions with animals.
Birds and other flying creatures pose a significant danger to aircraft, particularly during takeoff and landing, as they are more likely to encounter animals at lower altitudes.
Damage caused by bird strikes varies depending on the size of the aircraft and location of impact, but can lead to fatal consequences.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co
The airport has over the past few years adopted a number of strategies to secure its airspace to great effect.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Co on Tuesday said that air traffic has decreased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the airport seeing nearly 300 arrivals and departures per day.
The number of bird strikes has dropped accordingly, extending its downward trend from 39 strikes in 2018 and 23 in 2019 to only five last year, company data showed.
The firm had received an award for excellence in preventing bird strikes, as it had recorded a lower strike rate than targeted from 2017 to last year.
However, the trend seems to be reversing.
Although the number of flights over the first nine months was down 16 percent from the same period last year, the number of bird strikes was up slightly from the average, the company said.
This is due mainly to the area around the airport being a breeding and roosting ground for birds, it said, adding that the breeding season of many local species fell within the first half of the year.
To better understand their habits, the airport operator said it has been working with the Wild Bird Society of Taoyuan to set up a database with observations and other records.
Based on the data, the company would create monthly bird activity forecasts to inform professionals at the airport about which species might fly a certain altitudes at certain times, it said.
The company said that it is also seeking to make the airport grounds less attractive to birds by removing areas where they might roost as well as find water and food.
In August the firm started an initiative that surveys insect populations to better understand the birds’ food sources and general ecology of the area, it added.
Siren, buzzer and gun sounds are also employed to drive birds away during times of peak activity from 6am to 8am and 4pm to 6pm every day, the company said.
If a flock suddenly descends on a runway, it might be temporarily closed until they can be driven off, it added.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face