Published Articles
Airport Wildlife Risk Modelling
So, now you are now equipped with a list of species you may want or need to control. To get that flow I mentioned my last article, you will need to set up a framework for analysis first. The goal of this framework is to, in the words of ISO31000, “comprehend the nature of risk and to determine the level of risk.”
Lining Up the Usual (Wildlife) Suspects
For airport wildlife hazard management, this list of risks is going to be a list of the species found at and around the airport.
Some practitioners take a fairly broad approach to airport risk management and like to write down a range of risk sources at this point. They might include habitats and activities in this list as well. But I like to keep it tight. Specifically, what birds and animals have I got to worry about? This will make more sense when we go to analyse the “risks”.
Setting the Airport Wildlife Hazard Scene
A good airport operator knows that bird strikes and other airport wildlife hazards require special attention. In part 1 of this series, Safety Management System (SMS) processes had identified the overall risk associated with the hazard and you began consulting with your airport stakeholders.
But before making a list of bird and animal species and checking it twice, we need to set the context for the rest of this process - after all, context is everything.
Airport Wildlife Risk Management: Framework and Consultation
It can be easy for an airport operator to brush off the impact of a bird strike. The majority of the cost, estimated to be between $700 million BSC USA and $1 billion EASA per year, is borne by airlines. But aviation is a team-sport and, as an airport manager, when I get a call notifying me of a bird strike, I run through my management choices again, each and every time.
Those choices and business decisions can be tough. The effect of various wildlife management techniques can be hard to measure as there is no silver bullet.