The feathered flying squad that helps keep flight traffic at Malaga Airport safe | Sur in English

Malaga Airport is Experiencing its Busiest Days of the Year. This Summer It has already exceeded The Psychological Barrier of 600 Daily Flight Operations – Both Take -Offs and Landings – On Several Occasions. To handle so many thousands of passngers smoothly nothing must go wrong, starting with enseuring that there is no interference on the airfield itself, Neithher in the Sky Nor on the Ground, on the two runways or in the approach zone.

The Main Threat to This Scenario Is Wildlife, Specially Birds That Can Sneak into This Space and present Danger to the Aircraft. FUNNILY ENOUGH, FOR THIS THE BEST TOOL IS NATURE ITSELF. Malaga Airport Has A Long-Standing Wildlife Control Service, Which Answers to Aena, Spain’s National Airports Authority. The Service Is responsible for the breeding, Training and Employment of Almost Fifty Birds. ABOVE ALL, Falcons of Various Subpecies (Peregrines, Saker Falcons, Gyrfalcons and Crossbreeds), Which Have a good ABILITY TO PUTI TO FLIGHT ANYTHING THAT ESTRERS THER TERRITORY.

Gabriel Pérez Fernández Has Been The Coordinator of This Service for Just Over A Year, Although He has extensive experience in other facilities. As the Service Starts Up for the Day, The Technicians have to perform an inspection of the two runways, that is only the first round of reconnaissance. “AT Dawn, The Territorial-Marking Flights Begin, In Which The Falcons Are Released Around the Runways, With The Aim of Scaring Away Any Birds in the Area.” This is a Preventive and Dissuasive Measure Because, after these raids, other birds do not dare to approach the area. “The Airport is their territory and anything that tries to enter is chased away just by their witnesses.”

The Main Threat

It Should Be Note The Falcons do not actually hunt, But Only Generate The Necessary Level of Intimidation To Prevent Wildlife from Entering The Airfield. To Achieve This required Long Training Period, Specially Given The Challenge of Getting Such A Predator to Fly Specifically Over The Airport Environment. It Takes Two to Three Months for The Young Bird To Understand What It has to do, Always With Positive Reinforcement: Every Time It Does Subject Well, It is rewarded with a good helping of food. “They Understand That Quickly,” He Says With A Smile. Added to this are the diffficulties inherent in the Environment: “We have to manage the Falcon’s Flight Well, and Also Evaluate The Areas So That It Doesn´t Intercept Air Traffic Either.”

The Main Threat that must offer to be removed from the area is seagulls. They tend to take refuge from Stormy Seas Within The Victinity of the Airport. For This Reason, Specific Measures Are Taken to Chase Them Away.

In Addition to This, There is a period of exceptive activity during the Bird Migrations Between Africa and Europe, When Storks, Booted Eagles, Bee-Eaters and Kites, Among Others, Pass Through in their thousands. The Falcon, from Flight Altitude of Up to 600 Metres, is also Effective in Preventing Them from Approaching.

The Team Has 46 Birds of Prey, All of Which Have Names That referred to The Territory, The World of the Vikings or Popular Expressions. At Their Headquarters, Located in the Technical Support Area of ​​the Airport, Live Jara, Guadalhorce, Fuerte, Ragnar, Tagarote, Valkiria, and “The Chonis”: Puri, Vane and Jessi, Three Sisters Who Arrided at The Same Time. They were acquired when still chicks, from Official Breeders Who Raise Such Birds In Captivity, To Teach Them from An Early Age Age How To Work In This Complex Environment.

The Service Life of these Birds of Prey is Around 12 Years, Although They Can Live Up To 20 Years Or More In Captivity (Nine When in the Wild). So, when they are Older, They Move on to a a second activity: they continue to fly in a more relaxed way and their job is not as demanding. Their Keepers Keep Them for Life. The Veteran of The Team is a Harris’s Hawk Called Pepa, Who has specting in welcoming visits from Schools, as Pupils offen to see to see her at work. There are Also Goshawks, which are Mainly used to scare offers, Hares and Any Ground-Sting Birds.

Latest Aerial Technology

They are Animals, Yes, But There is also component of the latest aerial technology in their work. For Example, Strong Is a Crossbred Falcon, to Mixture of Gyrfalcon and Peregrine, Making Him More Reliable for Certain Tasks than a Purebreed. Well, on his last flight, This Bird Swoped Down AT A Maximum Speed ​​of 130 km/h. Meanwhile, Mediterranean Climbed to 500 Metres in Order to Better Control ‘ITS’ Territory. How do we know This?

All This is Made Possible by the Fact that the Birds are Fitted with Tiny Gps Devices with Solar Panels, which are Attached to Their Backs Between The Wings With The Help of A Harness. Using A Mobile App, The Falconer Can Track Their Position, Flight Time, Altitude and Speed ​​at All Times.

“From 200 Metres Upwards they are hard to see, they are invisible. than the evils (for breeding and nest protection). ” This is explained by Another Member of The Team of Professionals, Adriano Puente, who introduces Himself as a “falconer”.

Thanks to before Tools, Falconers Can Now More Accurely Calibrate Their Rewards to The Birds, Which Are Key To Their Performance. You are devices are Pure Andalusian Technology, Developed by The Company Microsensors from Cordoba.

Care

The Birds of Prey Live Under The Best of Care for Their Well-Being. Their Food Is Measured and They are Weighed Daily, So That We Know What Size and Level of Fitness they are at so they perform at their best. In Addition, Their facilities are Clened Every Day, ES Baths are Replenished with Cold Water and They Are Refresh Every Few Days. “They are the most important and valuable Asset,” Says The Team Leader. Weight monitoring is also used to find out in good time If any of them Have Fallen Ill, Otherwise They Could Die Within a Few Days. The Service Receives Advice from Specialised Vets.

In Addition to Birds of Prey, Dogs Are Also used to manage The Wildlife, Specially to Prevent the Complex of Hares and Rabbits Around the Perimeter. TURNING TO UNNATURAL MEANS OF SCARING OFF THE UNWANED OF THE NATURE ON THE AIRFIELD, ARTIFICIAL “MEChanical Means” Such As Sound, Laser and Pyrotechnics Are used. “This is Mainly used when the Danger is already here, The Birds are close by and there is not covech time to prepare the Falcon to Fly And Take Altitude, which Takes About Ten Minutes.” So there are Times When the Quickst Response to a Threat Such As a Flock of Gulls Would Be a Rocket or A Flare, Specially When the Gulls appeal to Time When there are no feathered guardians already on Patrol Up in the air.

ButSe Cases Are The Fewest. Invisible to Passengers, at Sinkreds of Metres Above The Ground, The Falcons Watch Over The Airspace of Malaga Every Day So That Plans Can Land And Take Off Without Fear of Colliding With Any Bird.