Skybound Chaos: Seagulls Cause Havoc, Forcing Venice Airport Closure!
A large flock of seagulls disrupted operations at Venice Marco Polo Airport, leading to a two-hour suspension of flights To ensure passenger safety, flights were redirected to alternative airports in northern Italy while a professional falconer was summoned to disperse the birds
Venice, often referred to as La Serenissima, may not always live up to its tranquil reputation due to the presence of noisy seagulls.
The gulls' notorious behavior of snatching food from oblivious individuals dining outdoors, descending upon café terraces, causing dishware to shatter, swiftly seizing sandwiches from the grips of pedestrians, and fearlessly nipping any fingers obstructing their path, is widely known. However, these avian troublemakers have now escalated their misdeeds by instigating an hour-long closure and two hours of pandemonium at the local airport.
Venice Marco Polo Airport, situated north of the city with a runway bordering the lagoon, stands as the fifth busiest airport in Italy and the largest in the northern region, excluding Milan. However, on Friday morning, operations came to a standstill due to a gathering of gulls at the runway's end.
According to a spokesperson for the airport, flights were suspended from 9.54 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. CNN has confirmed that twenty incoming flights were redirected to other airports in northern Italy including Treviso, Verona, Trieste, and Milan. Passengers diverted to Treviso can conveniently reach Venice within a 30-minute bus ride, while those rerouted to Trieste and Milan would have endured journeys lasting between two to three hours to reach their destination in Venice.
Venice airport employed a resident falcon, dispatched by a falconer, to disperse the approximately 200 birds. The airport management company, SAVE, carried out their standard anti-seagull routine, which included the use of "fauna-friendly acoustic deterrents," as mentioned in a statement.
Venice has been deemed "not at risk" after all, as UNESCO has decided to exclude the city from its list of heritage in danger. At 11.20 a.m., the airport resumed its usual operations once the falcon had finished its task and the gulls had departed.
Venice is not the lone airport in the vicinity that employs a resident falconer. Treviso, positioned approximately 14 miles inland from the lagoon as the gull flies, also relies on one. Verona, situated about 60 miles inland, remains unharmed by plundering seagulls.
Seagulls are notorious for their thieving in Venice.
Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images
Birds congregating around airports pose a significant threat to airplanes, potentially leading to hazardous situations. Termed as "bird strikes," these incidents have the potential to cause engine failures and even catastrophic crashes. Two notable examples that highlight the severity of this problem are the Eastern Air Lines flight 375 departure from Boston in 1960 and the Ethiopian Airlines flight 604 landing at Addis Ababa in 1988, both resulting in fatal accidents directly attributed to bird strikes.
Even Ryanair, the European airline with the best safety record, encountered an incident involving birds. In 2008, during a flight from Frankfurt to Rome, the aircraft collided with a group of starlings while approaching Ciampino airport. This led to a complete engine failure, but fortunately, the plane managed to land safely. However, two crew members and eight passengers had to be hospitalized. As a result of the incident, the eight-month-old Boeing 737 had to be declared as damaged beyond repair.
Arguably the most well-known bird strike event took place in 2009, involving US Airways' flight from New York's LaGuardia to Charlotte, under the command of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. During takeoff, the airplane collided with a flock of Canada geese, forcing the crew to carry out an emergency landing on the Hudson River.
