This past January, the Huffington Post released an article about the ever-growing number of bird strikes, and the New York-area airports’ solution to reduce that number.
The article states nearly 70,000 birds have been killed in a bid to make flight paths safer for New York City-area planes – and those aren’t numbers from bird strikes. According to statistics compiled by the Associated Press, the deliberate killings actually increased the amount of actual bird strikes, although the number of birds killed because of strikes has dropped slightly.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s notorious emergency landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River prompted the mass slaughter of six different bird species. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, people advocating for the safety of the birds are begging for a fix.
“There has to be a long-term solution that doesn’t rely so extensively on killing birds, and also keeps us safe in the sky,” said Jeffrey Kramer of the group GooseWatch NYC. Also suggested – better radar systems to detect problematic flocks.
Bird strikes are just one of the hazards that impact airport runways and taxiways. Installing AvTurf can help reduce and eliminate these hazards, while providing a clean, green and low-maintenance surface area. The patented aviation turf prevents wildlife from nesting and burrowing in and around the grass shoulders of the taxiways, and keeping the wildlife as far from the airport grounds as possible will ensure the safety of animals and air passengers alike. Bird strikes cost the aviation industry $1.2 billion per year, and AvTurf creates an environment free of food, water and shelter to reduce the potential for bird strikes, therefore saving the aviation industry as much money as possible.
Along with wildlife management, AvTurf also enhances visual recognition of runways for pilots approaching runways and is an erosion-resistant way to create a stable area for taxiways and shoulders.
About Act Global
Act Global is a world leader in synthetic turf technology, with manufacturing facilities on three continents and sales in more than 80 countries. The company carries a full range of products for sports (Xtreme Turf, UBU and Xtreme Grass), landscaping (Xtreme Lawn), aviation (AvTurf) and land reclamation (LiteEarth). Act Global’s UBU brand is known for providing “Ground Gear for Athletes” to 19 NFL fields and numerous colleges. Venues that have utilized turf with the UBU brand include MetLife Stadium, Paul Brown Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Superdome, U.S. Bank Stadium and NRG Stadium. Act Global is also a FIFA Preferred Producer for Football Turf, Synthetic Turf Council Certified Manufacturer, World Rugby Preferred Turf Producer, FIH Preferred Supplier, and holds ISO 9001 Certification. To learn more about Act Global visit http://www.actglobal.com.
Shelby Becker is a creative content creator and marketing specialist at Act Global. She’s an animal rights activist, avid concert-goer, and scary movie enthusiast. Follow her on LinkedIn .
For more information, contact marketing at sbecker@actglobal.com