Air Transport Associations and Airport Authorities Successfully Conclude Pilot Project to Reduce Bird Strikes

Miami (May 6th, 2014)- The Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) announced that the pilot project of the Wildlife Incident Neutralization-Cooperative Action Plan (WINCAP) has concluded in Ecuador´s José Joaquín de Olmedo/Guayaquil International Airport and Panama´s Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. The project has enabled stakeholders to have a clearer understanding of the challenges presented by the presence of wildlife around airports and the possible mitigation techniques to be applied.

The rise in incidents involving wildlife strikes against aircraft in Latin America and the Caribbean has triggered concerns on the part of airport authorities, airlines and other stakeholders, leading them to implement measures. The pilot project was initiated by the partnership of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), Airport Council International-Latin America and Caribbean (ACI-LAC), US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), with the local support from LAN Ecuador in Guayaquil and Copa Airlines and United Airlines in Panama. The experience derived from wildlife mitigation programs already in place in several US airports inspired this initiative, with the intent to expand the project throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The project consisted of a year-long wildlife hazard assessment at José Joaquín de Olmedo/Guayaquil International Airport and at Tocumen/Panama International Airport . As part of the program, stakeholders conducted wildlife surveys to identify threats, discussed the challenges, determined possible techniques to address them, educated staff and presented a preliminary report. The intended outcome is a plan to manage wildlife hazards known to be involved in strikes against planes. The findings have enabled stakeholders to better grasp the situation they face and arrive at the conclusion that the issues can indeed be addressed with a solution that meets the needs of aviation and the authorities.

Though both airports might seem to have similar problems, the findings revealed that the threats to each were very different. The final report presented recommendations for each respective airport. The program also recommends the establishment of a National Bird Strike committee, in adherence with ICAO recommendations, as a tool to address the bird strike problem.

IATA, ALTA and ACI-LAC would like to thank the Ecuadorian and Panamanian governments and their respective city authorities, as well as the FAA and the USDA for the support and collaboration through this initiative. This project exemplifies joint Governments and Industry collaboration at its best. As a result of WINCAP´s success, Brazil and Colombia have plans to replicate the program.