Wild Birds Threatening Flights At Moi International Airport Moi International Airport Kenya’s second largest airport, Moi International Airport, is facing a growing danger of bird strikes from two nearby dumpsites near its vicinity. Bird strikes can also be reffered to as avian ingestion which is a collision between an air-borne animal (a bird or a bat) and a vehicle preferably an aircraft. The strikes usually cause an accident and a number of them have been reported with casualty cases. We gather from an interview of the MIA Manager, Mr. Yatich Kagungo with Standard that “The Kabarani and Kabirunge dumpsites are a growing concern since they are attracting wild birds into the airports flight path”. Kenya Airports Authority and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority have objected to making Mwakirunge dumpsite, Africa’s first ever sanitary landfill for waste disposal. “Mwakirunge is located 20 kms from Mombasa which is on the airports flight path. This could interfere with aviation procedures.” Kagungo was quoted saying in his interview. According to the governor, his administration has entered into negotiations with the World Bank and French government to establish an ultra-modern garbage disposal and processing facility at Mwakirunge at a cost of Sh1.5 billion. “The dumpsite shall not be moved because after the construction of this disposal facility the problem of scavengers and birds shall not be there at all,” said Joho.Meanwhile Kagungo said that airport authorities have set up a unit of trained bird scouts and invested in equipment to scare off the animals.“We have also involved stakeholders in and around Mombasa including abattoirs and the Mombasa County government,” he said.
