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Make no mistake about it: Unless you are someone with aerophobia, air travel is the best means of transportation. It’s not for nothing. Based on safety statistics and industry data, it’s widely considered the safest and most efficient mode of transportation. This sentiment is frequently repeated by aviation safety experts, the International Air Transport Association(IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO). A combination of factors informed this top ranking of air travel. They include rigorous, standardized pilot training, strict international regulations, comprehensive checks, multiple backup systems to handle potential failures, and advanced technology.
That’s why air travel is faster than other modes of transportation. However, recurring bird strikes have become a significant safety concern in Nigeria, with over 516 wildlife strikes recorded across 20 airports in the last five years preceding mid-2025, according to figures reported by the Airline Operators of Nigeria(AON). These bird strikes which often occur during takeoff and landing phases of flight are not planned or foreseen. They have caused considerable economic damage, with single engine repairs or replacements often costing between $300,000 and $1.5 million per incident, depending on the aircraft. In 2015, for instance, AON said members lost $180 million to bird strikes annually at airports in the country. The losses continue to increase.
Over 70 percent of the incidents are attributed to negligence by government parastatals and oversight deficiencies of regulatory agencies. Operators are said to have lost over 30 aircraft engines in recent times, totaling over $70 million. How long will this continue? When bird strikes occur, references are often made to the “miracle on the Hudson River”, the 2009 US Airways flight that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River. It is called a ‘miracle’ because of the survival of the pilot, Chelsey Sullenberger and the 155 passengers and the crew on board.
That’s the triumph of the human spirit and why it has become a benchmark to compare current dangers and advances in aviation safety. Unknown to many, the ‘miracle on the Hudson River’ wasn’t the first time bird strikes had struck an aircraft. One of the first recorded incidents of bird strike collision happened in 1912 to Carl Roger, a pilot. It was on his journey from coast to coast in the United States when a collision with a bird Seagull led to his downfall in California, and his untimely death. Another bird strike incident happened to Eastern Airlines Flight 375, Registration N5533, a Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft that crashed on take- off from Logan International airport in Boston, Massachusetts on October 4, 1960.
Out of the 72 passengers on board, only 10 survived, nine sustained different degrees of injuries. 62 individuals lost their lives. The tragedy still stands as the ‘deadliest’ bird strike in aviation history. These references have become necessary to call attention to the present danger that bird strikes pose to global aviation industry, and the persistent challenge in Nigeria. The loss to air operators is estimated at over N20bn(about $60m) annually. Recent reports indicate a high frequency of bird strike incidents. United Nigeria Airline experienced an average of five strikes per month, three last week within 48 hours. Aviation statistics indicate that about 70 percent of the bird strikes occur within the vicinity of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, making the MMA the hotspot of bird strike incidents .
Also affected are Port Harcourt, Kano, Benin and Owerri Airports, all causing major flight disruptions, delays and sometimes, outright cancellation. Every sector loss translates to a minimum loss of $100,000. Air Peace, the largest carrier in Nigeria and West Africa, has suffered no fewer than 10 bird strike incidents between January and April this year alone. According to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, between 2005 and 2010, Nigeria recorded over 200 incidents of bird strikes. About 134 incidents were recorded between 2015 and 2020. From 2016 to 2017 alone, there were 27 incidents, according to data by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA). Out of this number, 14 occurred during takeoff, while 13 happened during landing. In the first half of 2022, 54 bird strikes were reported at MMA, Lagos, with 32 occuring in just two months.
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Between 2021and 2022, foreign and domestic airlines operating into Nigeria’s airports recorded 127 bird strikes in 21 months across 26 of Nigeria’s airports. Of this number, Air Peace is on record as the hardest hit, perhaps because it has the largest aircraft fleet. The airline recorded 14 bird strikes in 2021, 26 between February and June, 2023, 43 in 2024, and 49 between January and September, 2025 across major airports in the country. In 2025, the airline had to ground three of its aircraft in less than 48 hours due to bird strikes. Losses from each bird strike fall into three categories. Engine or structural damage is the most devastating of the three because of the cost of repair or replacement. In 2025, Air Peace was reported to have spent over $900,000 for three engine repairs damaged by bird strikes.
Chairman of the Airline, Barr Allen Onyema who remains undaunted by the incidents, disclosed that the airline suffered 115 bird strikes in the last five years. More than 30 of these incidents occurred in a single year. Two of these were of near-tragic situation. They occured at Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Imo state, and the Port Harcourt airport, Rivers state. In the case of Port Harcourt airport, a large bird was reported to have struck the aircraft’s gear during landing. It caused significant damage, though the aircraft landed safely without loss of lives. The Owerri incident was even more alarming. The collision of the aircraft with the bird happened mid-flight. It shattered the windshield of the aircraft and threatened cabin depressurisation.
The flight enroute Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, was forcefully aborted, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. It was part of Air Peace’s commitment to providing safe, comfortable and reliable air travel for all its passengers. Even though the forceful cancellation of the Abuja-bound flight did cause a huge loss to the airline and distress to passengers, the management of the airlines said the safety of passengers supercedes everything else. But it’s high time the relevant aviation agencies began to address the causes and proffer lasting solutions to bird strike incidents.
The causes are largely environmental. These include poor waste management practices around the airports, uncontrolled vegetation and grass growth. This has become since some of the airports are located near forests that encourage insects and rodents. These factors are made worse by seasonal migration patterns and unregulated urban encroachment at airport perimeters.With the rising bird strikes and aviation safety concerns, FAAN should fast track its promise to acquire ‘phonic bird wailers’ that help in combating wildlife and bird strikes.
Question is still being asked about the delivery of bird strikes fighting equipment that were bought from Canada in October 2024 to support airline operators and improve safety at the nation’s airports. The delivery of the equipment from Canada was widely lauded by AON at the time as a proactive measure to address infrastructure challenges at the airports. Since then, nothing concrete has happened. It will be recalled that some years ago, FAAN admitted it received wildlife hazard control equipment from ICAO to enhance safety and mitigate wildlife hazards at various airports across the country for effective utilisation.
Where are those equipment, or is the agency waiting for Nigeria’s version of “miracle of Hudson River’’? The consequences of such error in expectation could be devastating. Swift response what is required. With many challenges facing air operators, one of which is high cost of Jet AI fuel, rising bird strike incidents should not be allowed to discourage people from travelling by air. Interestingly, this is an era when airport authorities need to deploy Artificial Intelligence, AI-integrated radar systems, automated drones for wildlife monitoring and data analytics from migratory predictions to manage the present risks of bird strikes, which undoubtedly, have become a serious global challenge.
