The planned expansion of Coventry Airport will have serious issues for local wildlife - and for the safety of all passengers using the airport.  This is because passenger jets and large birds don't mix well together - planes flying into geese can crash, and are a serious problem around the world.

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority is so concerned that in 2002 they produced a special report: "Large Flocking Birds - An International Conflict Between Conservation and Air Safety"

"A significant international safety issue has been identified arising from the combination of a dramatic increase in the word-wide population of large flocking birds and the long-term growth of air traffic.  Growth in the geese population, and especially the increase in non-migratory geese near urban centres, is causing considerable air safety concern.  An encounter with a flock of these geese could cause multiple engine failures resulting in a catastrophic air accident."  These are the CAA's words, not ours.

"The risk of a catastrophic accident owing to multiple engine thrust loss after a bird strike encounter with a flock of geese is rising dramatically. The risk of such a strike will be approximately 2.5 times higher in 2010 than 2000, and around 6 times higher than 1990. There are no natural forces acting to limit this population growth. A number of serious incidents have already occurred and the overall level of risk is now such that urgent international action is required."

Download the CAA Report here (159k pdf) - or download from the CAA website here (and visit www.caa.co.uk for more air safety information)