Wildlife Strikes Soar at Hyderabad Airport

Wildlife strikes at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) are on the rise, with 442 incidents recorded between January 2023 and August 2026. The number of strikes has steadily increased, from 101 in 2023 to 114 in 2024 and 133 in 2025, impacting flight operations and safety.

These incidents involve a diverse range of wildlife, including birds like red-wattled lapwings and barn swallows, as well as bats and monitor lizards. Contributing factors include food accumulation and garbage dumping around the airport.

Aircraft are particularly vulnerable during landing and approach, with over 60% of strikes occurring in these phases. In 2025, 88 out of 133 strikes happened during these critical moments, leading to operational consequences in 5.5% of cases that year.

RGIA is actively implementing wildlife hazard management measures. These include habitat fragmenters to deter waterbirds, black-light traps for insects, vegetation management, nylon-net fencing to block terrestrial animals, and software-based wildlife surveillance.