535 cases in 3 years: Bengaluru airport reports highest bird-hit incidents in South India

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Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), which is accustomed to global admiration for its prized Terminal 2, has recorded the highest number of bird strikes among airports in South India over the last three years.

According to The New Indian Express, data by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed that a total of 535 bird strikes were reported at KIA from 2022 to May 2025. The Bengaluru airport ranked fourth behind Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad at the national level.

Hyderabad and Chennai registered 420 and 379 cases, respectively, for the same time period as KIA.

Why is KIA most prone to bird strikes in the South?

MB Krishna, a city-based ornithologist, was quoted by TINE as saying: “The whole area where the airport is built used to be a lake. Additionally, the surrounding areas are agricultural, which explains the bird population.” Krishna added that since the bird species have been there long before the airport came up, their lives should be prioritised.

According to a spokesperson from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the airport’s “in-house Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Management (BASHM) team employs a data-driven approach that goes beyond regulatory requirements to effectively minimise bird strike risks. Real-time automated bird monitoring systems alert our bird-chasing team, enabling immediate response. Daily data analysis informs our adaptive wildlife hazard management plans and predictive forecasting of bird activity, optimising deterrent deployment and runway usage”, the report added.