How Bird Strikes Are Draining Nigerian Airlines, Testing Aviation Infrastructure

The menace of bird strike incidents on airline operators cannot be over-emphasised. Nigerian airlines lose billions of naira annually to aircraft damage due to the incident. Pakuli Panam Danjuma writes.

At first glance, a bird crossing an aircraft’s flight path may seem insignificant. In reality, it represents one of the most persistent operational and financial risks confronting Nigeria’s aviation industry.

From damaged engines and disrupted schedules to mounting insurance claims and passenger dissatisfaction, bird strikes and wildlife incursions have quietly become a multi-billion-naira burden for airlines, airport operators and regulators.

In an industry where margins are razor-thin and costs are largely dollar-denominated, even a single wildlife strike can wipe out the profit of several flights.

For Nigeria, Africa’s largest air transport market by population, managing this risk has become as much a business imperative as a safety obligation.

Also, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development in its 2026 spending, planned acquisition of additional phoenix airport wailers MK IV Bird Deterrent System for Kano, Benin and Kaduna airports at the sum of N7,000,000.

According to the ministry, the project was “ongoing.”

Also, recent data from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) shows that the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, recorded the highest number of bird strike incidents in the country in 2024, reflecting its status as Nigeria’s busiest aviation hub.

Though the data for the 2025 wildlife incidents is yet to be made public, the figure may not be different as the airport has continued to be notorious for such unpleasant experiences over the years.

Other airports with significant occurrences include Port Harcourt International Airport, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri and Akwa Ibom International Airport.

According to Mr. Godwin Balang, the then Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards at the NCAA, the findings emerged from qualitative and statistical analysis of bird strike reports submitted by aerodrome operators.

“Lagos topped other airports as of January 2024,” Balang said, noting that a record of four bird strike incidents was logged in one day on Runway 18 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in 2025.

For industry analysts, the Lagos experience highlights a broader economic reality – high traffic density combined with weak environmental control multiplies operational risk.

Frequent take-offs and landings increase exposure, while urban encroachment, poor waste management and nearby food sources draw birds into aircraft movement areas.

Globally, bird strikes cost airlines an estimated $1.2 billion annually, according to previous figures released by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The losses go far beyond immediate repairs. In Nigeria, airline executives say the real cost includes cancelled flights, extended aircraft downtime, crew displacement, passenger compensation, missed slots and rising insurance premiums.

Dr. Allen Onyema, Vice Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), revealed that Air Peace alone recorded as many as 43 bird strike incidents in 2024.

“Each incident comes with direct costs and indirect losses. Aircraft go out of service, passengers are stranded, and the ripple effects spread across the entire operation.”

At a symposium organised recently by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), industry statistics illustrated the scale of the problem.

Nigeria recorded 58 bird strikes in 2015; 98 in 2016; 193 in 2017 and 127 incidents in 2019.

For airlines operating under high fuel costs, volatile exchange rates and limited access to financing, such incidents represent a serious threat to sustainability.

For Capt. Jide Bakare, Safety Manager at Arik Air, offered a sobering breakdown of the financial impact on airlines.

According to him, Arik Air alone lost about $3.6 million over six years due to bird strike incidents.

Bakare said that in 2019 alone, the airline spent $430,000 replacing damaged aircraft components.

Two bird strike incidents at Enugu Airport, Bakare revealed, cost the airline an additional $466,000.

Such figures, he lamented, resonate strongly with investors and lessors, expressing that modern jet engines cost millions of dollars, while minor bird ingestion could necessitate extensive inspections or premature component replacement.

He added: “About 95 per cent of bird strikes occur below 3,000 feet. That is exactly where aircraft are most vulnerable and pilots have the least flexibility.”

Also, Charles Amokwu, aviation analyst, said that Nigerian airlines lose billions of naira to bird strike incidents annually.

He, however, regretted that despite the huge loss, FAAN with its Department of Wildlife Control had not adopted modern technologies to reduce the threat in any of the nation’s airports.

He explained that in order to control the assault on aircraft, the government needed to identify species of birds that create the problems for airlines, things that attract birds to the airport and acquire modern equipment that would reduce their activities at the nation’s airports.

Amokwu explained that of all the airports in the country, only Uyo Airport management had been able to control bird activities with the acquisition of equipment, which sends away birds around the path of aircraft, urging FAAN to take a cue from the airport management in order to improve safety to aircraft and other equipment at the airside of airports.

He said: “The airlines are losing millions of dollars. Like the one that happened to one of the airlines about a year ago, it cost the airline about $1.5 million dollars to replace an engine and once you have a bird injection, the first thing you get flying an airplane is the smoke like roasted chicken.

“Once you get that, you have to come down because you actually don’t know the extent of the damage.”

Beyond birds, wildlife incursions pose another layer of business risk. International experience shows that animals such as deer and wild dogs can cause catastrophic aircraft damage.

In Nigeria, poor land-use planning around airports increases exposure. Abattoirs, refuse dumps and farmland located close to aerodromes attract birds and scavengers, while weak perimeter control allows wildlife access to runways and taxiways.

An official of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) cited Enugu Airport as a case study, noting its proximity to an abattoir as a major contributor to persistent bird activity.

For business analysts, the implications are clear: airport infrastructure investment must go beyond terminals and runways to include perimeter control, environmental management and community engagement.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2023 require airport operators to establish Wildlife Hazard Management Plans (WHMPs).

The NCAA has also issued Advisory Circular NCAA-AC-ARD-036, aligning local practice with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

However, compliance gaps remain, raising concerns for insurers, lessors and international partners.

In an era where airline partnerships, codeshares and leasing agreements depend on global benchmarks, failure to manage wildlife risk carries reputational as well as financial costs.

FAAN’s attempt to change the situation

Recognising the business implications, FAAN about two years ago, said it was prepared to reposition its approach to wildlife management.

FAAN Managing Director, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, described bird strikes as one of the most pressing challenges inherited by the current administration.

According to her, FAAN has since altered grass-cutting schedules, shifting mowing to nighttime to reduce insect exposure that attracts birds.

Beyond procedural changes, Kuku also unveiled plans to take delivery of modern wildlife-control equipment from Canada, including mobile bird-dispersal technology mounted on vehicles.

Kuku believed sustained progress could also strengthen Nigeria’s safety rating within ICAO assessments, a key factor in expanding international connectivity and attracting foreign carriers.

She said: “First of all, we looked at history; what has been happening and what has been causing the high rate of bird strike incidents? Is it that we don’t have enough equipment to fight the birds?

“But now, it has changed because we adopted new techniques. Also, we decided to cut the grass at night because if you are cutting grass in the morning, the birds would be everywhere picking the insects. So, we have changed that. Also, we have acquired some wildlife fighting equipment to reduce the impact.

“We were having so many reports on bird strike incidents literally daily, but now, we may not witness any bird strike incident even in two weeks across the country. And most bird strikes that we have now, are little birds that cause no damage to the aircraft.

“We are not thinking of sustaining the current trend, rather we want to improve on whatever we are doing now. We even have some equipment that is coming in from Canada. It’s not about sustaining it, but we are improving on it because we don’t want to go back to where we were before. What we are bringing is a new technology that is mounted on the vehicles, not stationary.”

But, two years after, the impact of the equipment acquisition is yet to be felt by the operators as incidents relating to bird strikes and wildlife are yet to abate.