I like Delhi's solution. They shoot cannons (unclear what's in them) all day to keep the birds away from the runway. This is probably super common, I just haven't seen it done elsewhere.
Uh, no. That would be WAY too expensive and difficult to automate. They run off of propane. Search your favorite engine for “bird scare cannon”. Or buy this one off amazon.
The machine in the second photo looks like a cannon but actually sprays insecticide. The goal is to remove insects that the birds feed on, giving them less reason to approach the area in the first place.
Due to the proximity of most Korean airports to residential areas and important military targets, an automated cannon that makes explosive sounds at random would be a big no-no. People would think the airport was being bombarded, or more likely, the President had declared martial law again :(
I live less than a km from a small airport in South Korea, and hear that "cannon" going off all the time. Now I'm curious, is it propane or a person? I'm going to be on the lookout now.
That only addresses birds on or very near the airport property, and at very low altitudes. It’s not particularly effective, because the birds just move somewhere close by and settle down. It can also be counterproductive, because scaring birds generally causes them to fly. In the air. Where the airplanes are.
