Reduce Bird Attacks On Airplanes, Amsterdam Airport Uses Pigs Between Runways

Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands, (Wikimedia Commons/Mark Brouwer)

JAKARTA - Pigs may not actually fly, but they may have a role to play in keeping air travel safe.

Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands has employed 20 animals as part of a pilot project, the goal of which is to reduce the number of bird strikes on planes.

Collisions between aircraft and larger birds, such as geese, can pose a serious hazard, especially if the animal is sucked into the engine.

"Schiphol Airport reported about 150 bird strikes in 2020," airport spokeswoman Willemeike Koster told CNN as quoted November 24, citing the use of pigs as one of the ways the airport is trying to reduce the number.

Under the program, pigs will be released to forage on five hectares of land where sugar beets were recently harvested between two runways, the airport said in a press release announcing the project in September.

The pigs were provided by Buitengewone Varkens, a small pig farm company that raises the animals outdoors.

Schiphol Airport approached the company and asked if the pigs could come and eat the crop residue, which attracts geese and other birds, explains co-owner Stan Gloudemans.

Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Wikimedia Commons/Cjh1452000)

The first benefit is that pigs help make the area less attractive to birds by eliminating food sources, Gloudemans said.

The second benefit is the fact that as meat eaters, pigs will also try to catch geese that land in the fields to rest, he added.

"While the pigs can't move fast enough to actually catch the geese, their attempt to do so means they act like living scarecrows and scare the birds away," he explained.

Gloudemans Farm produces about 300 piglets per year. They are usually deployed around the Netherlands to clear weeds or crop residue from harvest, not as part of aircraft safety measures.

"This is the weirdest question. Next time they might ask me to keep the thief away or something," Gloudemans said.

Schiphol Airport said the success of the project would be measured by analyzing bird activity in the area during pigs, versus when there were no pigs.

To note, the airport already employs 20 bird controllers who work around the clock to keep birds away, using technologies such as laser light and sound. The airport is also planting a special type of grass to make the area unattractive to birds, Koster said.

The six-week pilot project ends in the first week of November, Koster said, adding it was "informative." The data collected will be examined in the coming months, and a decision on the long-term use of pigs is expected early next year.