Cabinet has approved establishing a national committee to coordinate the management of wildlife hazards affecting civil aviation.

The committee will represent relevant stakeholder institutions and serve as a national coordination mechanism for addressing wildlife-related risks to aircraft operations.

According to the Cabinet statement, Sri Lanka must implement relevant international standards and recommendations as a contracting state to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention.

These requirements include recording and reporting wildlife strikes, gathering information about potentially hazardous wildlife and assessing risks at airports and surrounding areas.

Wildlife strike reports must also be submitted for inclusion in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s strike information system.

The Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation submitted the proposal to establish the committee.