60 m Shotgun, 2 km Laser: Incheon Airport Puts Bird-Scaring Laser Guns on All Four Runways

From 60 m to 2 km

The device was developed by a Korean company and patented with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. It can keep birds away from about 2,000 m, more than 30 times the 60 m effective range of the shotguns used before.

There are four runways and four laser guns, in use at the site since Oct. 15.

Dawn and dusk are the real test

Around sunrise and sunset birds are hard to spot with the naked eye, and thermal cameras had to be brought in. The corporation will deploy the lasers mainly in those hours, at night and in the seasons when birds gather.

Every winter, large flocks of geese and other migratory birds arrive. The lasers are planned for those flocks too.

Why now?

Lasers were hard to allow at airports over fears they could dazzle pilots. The transport ministry has since revised its guidance, the corporation set safety and operating procedures in July, and the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration approved operation in September.

Next up: radar

A bird-detection radar is planned for around 2028, watching bird movement within 13 km of the airport.

"We expect bird-control capability and flight safety to improve greatly," said Cho Yong-su of the corporation.