United Nigeria Airlines says three aircraft in its fleet have been grounded in the last 48 hours on account of a bird strike.

Chibuike Uloka, the public relations officer of UNA, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, said the company suffered another bird strike on an Embraer 190 aircraft at Benin City Airport on Thursday.

Mr Uloka said the affected aircraft, which had been withdrawn as a result of damage to its nose landing gear, was Flight UN0561 on its way from Benin Airport to Abuja.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and a moving aircraft, occurring most frequently during takeoff or landing at low altitudes.

The impact of a bird strike can cause significant damage to engines, windscreens, and airframes.

UNA said the Benin Airport incident was the third in the last 48 hours and the seventh since January 7.

It said that the frequency of bird strikes on its operations had assumed an extremely concerning and unacceptable pattern, given its impact on safety.

“While our operating aircraft have experienced multiple bird strike incidents, we report only those that have resulted in aircraft being grounded due to damaged part(s).

“We urge the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to strengthen wildlife hazard management measures across major airports to minimise the risk of such occurrences.

“We sincerely apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience to their travel plans resulting from service disruptions caused by multiple bird strikes,” it said. 

(NAN)