Airport wants "Bird Ban"

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) wants an expansion on the coverage of a proposed Parañaque City ordinance reiterating an 18-year-old ban on breeding of pigeons and other bird species within the 1-mile radius from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the Manila Domestic Airport.

Parañaque City Councilor Ricardo Baes’ proposal amends Ordinance 93-08 that prohibits the breeding, raising and domestication of pigeons and other bird species, as well as kite-flying and operation of remote-controlled scale model aircraft within 1-mile radius from Manila airports.

The airport authority supports the proposed ordinance, however, the authority wanted an expansion on its coverage by widening the area from 1-mile to 2.5-mile radius from the airport, according to MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado.

Baes’ proposal would help reduce the financial and safety risks posed by bird strikes to the aviation industry, said Honrado.

Under the proposed new ordinance, a fine of P5,000 or imprisonment of not more than 10 days will be imposed if the ordinance were violated.

A bird strike is a collision between a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft and an airborne animal, usually a bird.

Bird strikes are considered hazard to flight safety and have caused a number of accidents with human casualties. Since 2003, over 50 cases of bird strikes have been recorded at the NAIA. The airport authority blamed the problem of bird strike at airport to the nearby coastal lagoon of the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque.

The coastal lagoon was declared a critical habitat and ecotourism area by former President Gloria Arroyo in 2008 in Presidential Proclamation 141. An ordinance was approved by the city council in 2003 to deal with the problem of bird strikes within NAIA at the time.

“The issuance of Presidential Proclamation 141 rendered the effort of MIAA management to amend Ordinance 93-08 futile. It is informed that the bird sanctuary in La Huerta is very close to Runway 06 and within the one-mile radius from NAIA which is very hazardous to aircraft operation,” Honrado said.

Although the airport authority understands the purpose of the presidential proclamation, the airport general manager also said that the safety of aircraft operation cannot be compromised at any time.

By Mayvelin U. Caraballo