Mumbai Invites Startups to Tackle Aircraft Bird Risk
Mumbai has launched a call to action for innovators after highlighting a critical safety challenge: bird strikes endangering flights as they ascend from its international airport. At a government‑led meeting, authorities revealed that the uncovered Versova Refuse Transfer Station (RTS), sitting merely eight kilometres from runway thresholds, attracts large flocks of scavenging birds—posing a tangible threat to aircraft safety and passenger lives.
The initiative comes in the wake of a recent Air India incident near Ahmedabad that initially raised bird strike concerns. In response, Mumbai’s Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar chaired a high‑level meeting at Mantralaya, urging the municipal corporation to cover the Versova RTS, install bird‑deterrent infrastructure, and engage startups, research institutions, and residents to propose sustainable solutions. Currently, the open‑air RTS processes around 400–450 tonnes of waste daily, creating an attractive habitat for crows, vultures, and other avifauna. Under CCTV‑like scrutiny from agencies such as the DGCA, MPCB, BMC, and airport operator Adani Airport Holdings, the project has been elevated to a matter of public and environmental safety.
“We have identified Versova RTS as a critical risk point on the airport flight path,” an official disclosed. “Within 15 days, we will invite tender bids to build an industrial shed, odour‑control systems and netting to deter birds.” Beyond this, a multi‑departmental committee will craft a challenge brief for innovators aiming to integrate tech, ecology and community care. The human angle is strong. Local residents have long endured foul odours and bird droppings, affecting health and sanitation. For sanitation workers—many of whom are women—working at open‑air facilities compounds exposure risks. Retrofitting the RTS thus not only safeguards flights but also lifts living and workplace conditions in nearby suburbs—aligning with Mumbai’s goal of sustainable, inclusive, gender‑neutral civic infrastructure.
Bird strike risk near Mumbai airport is not theoretical. In 2024, an Emirates flight collided with 39 flamingos during landing, drawing attention to the nearby wetland ecosystems. Experts have warned that Mumbai’s ecological sprawl—threatened mangroves, seasonal mudflats, and garbage hubs—creates hazardous zones that require sensitive planning. Birds follow migratory circuits, and scavenging hotspots near RTS sites disrupt flight safety. “In aviation globally, 60 per cent of bird strikes occur during take-off and climb‐out,” experts said.“Even small birds can damage engines or wings, forcing emergency landings and risking lives.” Mumbai’s move to pilot a combined ecological and technological solution is rare in India’s airport safety efforts.
Encouragingly, the city aims to harness India’s startup ecosystem. Proposed interventions include solar-powered netting, bio-acoustic bird deterrents, IoT-enabled avian monitoring, and insulated waste enclosures. The tender will prioritise carbon‑neutral innovations that reduce methane, waste leakage, and bird congregation—not merely cordoning off the facility. “This challenge is about more than aviation, it’s about an eco‑smart city ecosystem,” said an environmentalist. “Waste management, public hygiene, climate resilience and flight safety problems merge at Versova RTS, and Mumbai is asking its innovators to find integrated answers.”
Local volunteer groups and RWAs are joining the effort. Citizen scientists with urban ecology NGOs are offering to map bird flight patterns around the RTS. Their labour highlights how community engagement—often missing from top‑down infrastructure solutions—can enrich ecological interventions with lived insight. The committee will also examine whether sites like the Navi Mumbai airport, located near mangrove corridors and bird sanctuaries, inadvertently worsen collision risks. International studies show airports near habitats must enforce a 20 km buffer and regulate land use—a condition often unmet in India’s urban sprawl.
Mumbai’s response arrives as a much-needed test case for other metros. Delhi’s recent terminal bird strikes and Chennai’s growing incidents point to a broader national need for combining urban planning and aviation safety. Beyond aviation, the project touches on core climate-city themes. By converting open dumps into covered, odourless facilities, the city moves toward zero-net-carbon waste systems, reducing airborne pollution and GHG emissions. Scholars note that overt bird aggregations also intensify disease potential—covering the RTS could cut microbial spread that disproportionately affects underprivileged workers.
Yet much will depend on execution. Experts caution that retrofitting alone may not work unless paired with rigorous monitoring, enforcement of CRZ norms near coastal mangroves, and continuous ecological evaluation. For now, the city’s plan marks a shift: Mumbai is recognising that sustainable aviation safety depends as much on green urban ecosystems as on runway lighting. In time, successful innovations here may seed broader urban revolution—where tech, environment and human health intersect.
As the tender clocks start, aviation and civic leaders anticipate proposals that could redefine how cities manage waste near flight corridors—making Mumbai a frontline example of human-centred, climate-resilient urbanism.
