NEW DELHI: A whopping 2,000 bird and animal hits on aircraft have been recorded annually in the last two years across the 20 airports which have recently emerged as the busiest in the country. However, the number appears to be decreasing this year, as just 641 such hits have been recorded so far in the first five months.Data shared by the DGCA, reveals that there were 1,633 bird/animal strikes in 2022 at these airports. It soared to 2,269 in 2023 and dipped slightly to 2,066 in 2024.Delhi appears to bear the maximum brunt of such strikes, averaging over 400 incidents annually in the last three years. It had 442 strikes in 2022, 616 in 2023 and 419 in 2024, the data shows. In 2025, it has recorded 95 hits so far.Ahmedabad is the second most impacted airport. Although it recorded only 80 hits in 2022, the figure more than doubled to 214 in 2023 and 201 in 2024.In the immediate aftermath of the June 12 Dreamliner crash near the airport, the initial theory circulating was a shutdown of both engines due to a bird strike in the prolific presence of the winged creatures in the area.
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