Cochin International Airport, which ranked 15th out of the nation’s top 20 airports for animal strikes in 2024, intends to implement “selective culling” and other measures to reduce possible risks. This year alone, 32 incidents involving birds and other animals were reported at the airport.

According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in the four years to May of 2025, the airport recorded a total of 231 bird and animal hits. Of these, 53 were posted in 2022. This increased to 90 in 2023, before dropping to 56 in 2024.

Approximately 2,000 bird and animal impacts have been reported annually over the past two years across 20 major airports in the nation, according to statistics presented at the first meeting of the National Wildlife Hazard Management Committee (NWHMC), which was recently held at the DGCA headquarters in Delhi.

At the June 26 conference, airport officials discussed cutting-edge methods that other nations have employed to lessen wildlife threats, such as hunter dogs, robotic falcons, falconry, long-range acoustic devices, and the proposed application of artificial intelligence (AI) in this area.