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.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to