Planes halted on runway at Indonesian airport by invasion of birds

Twelve planes at Adisutjipto airport in Yogyakarta, central Indonesia were delayed at the runway by thousands of birds swarming the tarmac.

In video filmed in the early hours of November 11, thousands of birds are seen gathered and flying at the end of Runway 27, where the planes were due to take off and land at.

Airport Duty Manager Angkasa Pura 1 Yogyakarta, Beny Ramadhan, told the media that officers from the Bird Strike team used 4 cars to enter the runway to expel the bird invasion. The team spent around 90 minutes shooing away the birds from 5:00am to around 6:30am.

During the expulsion process, 12 flights including three held in the air, eight on the tarmac, and one holding at the taxiway.

Officers were confounded since it was often the case that birds driven off from one end of the runway settled at the other end.

"One plane on taxiway has taken off at around 6.24 a.m," Ramadhan said.

Thousands of these birds are thought to be looking for insects that appear at the start of the rainy season, including at the airport area.