 Ahmedabad: The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport is all set to upgrade it armoury to battle the feathered menace. To eliminate bird-hit problems, the airport has upgraded the 'zone guns' it procured in 2010 for keeping the sky over the runway free of birds.
The 'zone guns' create a loud shot-like sound to scare away the birds. The volume of the noise and interval between detonations for the guns can be adjusted. The new guns will have more options with the kind of sounds and its reach.
Besides firecrackers, Ahmedabad airport authorities currently use two laser guns costing Rs 1.5 lakh each and seven zone guns, a six-shot launcher and a LPG cylinder-operated device which generates loud noise at regular intervals. It spends Rs 30 lakh annually to check bird hits.
Officials said many birds are now used to the sound created by the existing guns, but the new ones are advanced versions and emit different frequencies of sound. However, sources said all of the sophisticated devices have failed to sway away birds from the airport vicinity.
The use of firecrackers at the airport was banned last year after two CISF officials in Thiruvananthapuram had mischievously planted firecrackers on a flight. Ahmedabad airport officials then wrote to the Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security seeking relaxation of the ban as they have no other option to control the menace.
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