Bird sonic installed at Izumo Airport
Ninth airport nationwide; Japan’s highest bird-strike rate dramatically reduced
image: Stakeholders observe the installation of the Bird Sonic bird-strike prevention system near the runway at Izumo Airport. The device emits high-frequency sound to deter birds from entering aircraft flight paths and has been introduced to reduce the airport’s historically high bird-strike rate.
Credit: Okayama University of Science
A Bird Sonic system, which emits high-frequency sound to reduce bird strikes involving aircraft, was installed on November 18, at Izumo Airport in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. The airport has a 2,000-meter runway. Izumo Airport is the ninth airport in Japan to adopt the system, following installations at Kansai International, Osaka International (Itami), Chubu Centrair International, Kobe, and other airports.
Izumo Airport had experienced frequent bird strikes, recording 17.97 incidents per 10,000 takeoffs and landings in 2023, the highest rate among domestic airports handling more than 10,000 annual aircraft movements. Since the installation of Bird Sonic, however, bird strikes have reportedly been almost eliminated.
Bird Sonic is a wildlife hazard mitigation device developed by T.M. WORKS, an automotive parts manufacturer based in Yamanashi Prefecture. Effectiveness verification is being conducted by Specially Appointed Professor Masachika Tsuji at the Organization for Research and Community Collaboration of Okayama University of Science.
Each Bird Sonic unit is equipped with four speakers. From the center of each speaker, sound spreads approximately 50 degrees to both the left and right. Under near windless conditions, the sound reached a distance of about 300 meters, with an effective coverage range typically between 150 and 250 meters.
The newly installed unit is located at the eastern end of the runway, which extends into Lake Shinji. During this season, the area is frequented primarily by ducks. According to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Izumo Airport reported 17.97 bird strikes per 10,000 takeoffs and landings in 2023 among the 37 domestic airports with more than 10,000 annual aircraft movements. Even when averaged over the past five years, the airport recorded 12.22 incidents per 10,000 movements, ranking third nationwide after Miyako and Ishigaki airports.
Professor Tsuji commented, “Installing Bird Sonic at Izumo Airport, which has an extremely high bird-strike rate and is located adjacent to Lake Shinji—a site designated under the Ramsar Convention—was an exceptionally difficult task. We had to reduce bird strikes without altering the local ecosystem. I am truly pleased that we were able to achieve this. We will continue to work in cooperation with T.M. WORKS to help ensure aviation safety.”