Lagos Airport Ranks Highest In Bird Strike Incidents – NCAA

Among international airports in Nigeria, the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos ranks highest with bird strike incidents in the country.

a presentation by the Di­rector, Aerodrome and Airspace Standards, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Godwin Balang, MMA is followed by Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), Omegwa; Sam Mbak­we International Cargo Airport (SMCA), Owerri, and Akwa Ibom International Airport, Uyo.

According to the NCAA director, this discovery was based on the qualitative conclu­sions from statistics gathered and analysed by the NCAA.

He stated that as of Jan­uary 2024, Lagos topped other air­ports with bird strike incidents.

He explained that in 2025, the highest number of bird strike in­cidents recorded per day at any airport was four bird strikes on the 18 Runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Air­port (MMIA), Lagos.

Statistics by the NCAA iden­tified poor waste management around that environment as one of the major reasons for the con­centration of birds at the Lagos airport.

Balang further observed that whenever grass cutting or other environmental activities coincid­ed with the period of birds’ migra­tion, it led to a spike in incidents of bird strikes at the airport, but assured that effective Wild­life Hazard Management Plan (WHMP) would help to minimise this trend.

Balang, however, said that the high rate of bird strike in­cidents was a grave concern to the NCAA, stressing that this had led to its identification as a key area for safety oversight en­hancement in 2024 and 2025 by the Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA), through the Director­ate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards.

Also, he explained that the NCAA had published an advisory circular, NCAA-AC-ARD-036, that guides aerodrome operators on the subject matter.

The NCAA safety oversight system, Balang said, is framed around the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) eight Critical Elements (CEs).

He added: “It is well estab­lished that the DGCA has sufficient powers to make Civil Aviation Regulations to deal with the subject matter.

The new Ni­geria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2023 Part 12 Vol. I and II specify regulations that require aerodrome operators to establish a system to reduce the risk of wildlife collision with aircraft.

“An effective Wildlife Hazard Management Plan (WHMP) is part of that system required by Nig. CARs 12.2.9.4. The Director­ate of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards (DAAS) is the techni­cal directorate designated by the DGCA to deal with the subject matter.”