Grounding of aircraft spotlights persistent bird strike threat menacing Thiruvananthapuram airport 

On Sunday, an Oman Air Boeing 737 Max 8 was grounded following a bird strike

The grounding of an Oman Air Boeing 737 Max 8 at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Sunday has highlighted the “persisting” threat of bird strikes to airliners and passengers.

According to an airport insider, the bird strike occurred when the aircraft inbound from Muscat made its final landing approach at around 7.30 a.m.

The authorities grounded the aircraft and moved it to service bay 45 for maintenance.

Mahesh Gupthan, an airport spokesperson, confirmed the bird strike.

Mr. Gupthan told The Hindu that the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had given civic authorities an ultimatum: a deadline for the scientific disposal of slaughter waste within a four-square-kilometre radius of the international airport.

Airport authorities report that regulators raise concerns if more than one bird strike occurs for every ten thousand landings or takeoffs, placing the respective airport in the bird strike threat zone.

Plane spotters associated with the Plane Spotters Kerala (PSK), a niche group of aviation enthusiasts who video record and photograph landings and takeoffs from the perimeter of the expansive airport, say by a rough estimate, aircraft face more than 10 bird strike threats over Thiruvananthapuram monthly.