Avianca has publicly pleaded with authorities to tackle the presence of birds at airports in Colombia.
The Colombian full-service carrier (FSC) took to Twitter to reveal that one of its Airbus A320 aircraft experienced a bird strike upon takeoff from San Andres International Airport (ADZ), San Andres, Colombia.
“We reiterate the urgency of immediate measures to control the presence of birds in the airports of our country!” Avianca said, tagging the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia (Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia, Aerocivil) in the tweet.
“Thanks to the crew in command of yesterday’s flight AV9377 for their impeccable handling after the bird strike that affected one of the plane’s engines,” the Colombian airline added.
The incident took place on April 25, 2023, when the airline was carrying out Flight AV9377, a regularly scheduled flight from ADZ to Bogota El Dorado International Airport (BOG), Colombia. Avianca’s Airbus A320, registered as N411AE, experienced a bird strike on its right-hand side engine shortly after it lifted off the ground, according to the video shared by the Colombian carrier.
Flightradar24.com data shows that the aircraft returned to its origin airport some 20 minutes after departure. The Airbus A320 has remained at ADZ since the incident, while another Avianca Airbus A320, registered as N748AV, operated flight AV9377 on April 26, 2023.