Muan Airport Fails to Apply 13 km Standard for Bird Strike Risk Management

Only a 5 km Radius Managed Instead of the Legal Standard

It has been confirmed that Muan International Airport, while establishing and operating a wildlife collision risk management plan, set its management range to only a 5 km radius instead of the legally mandated 13 km radius around the airport. This fact was revealed through documents submitted during the National Assembly investigation into the December 29 passenger aircraft disaster.

Image of bird-related data at Muan Airport overlaid on a map. Provided by Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP)

Jeon Jinsook, a member of the National Assembly’s December 29 passenger aircraft disaster investigation committee and a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Buk-gu, Gwangju), announced on the 14th that her analysis of the “2024·2025 Muan Airport Bird Strike Risk Management Plan” submitted by Korea Airports Corporation showed that the actual scope of bird strike prevention activities had been set to a 5 km radius around the airport.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s notification on “Criteria for Reducing Bird and Wildlife Collision Risks” stipulates, based on the Airport Facilities Act, the Aviation Safety Act, and the annexes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Convention, that the risk management range must be within a 13 km radius from the airport reference point. It also mandates the establishment of a risk management plan reflecting the status of bird and wildlife habitats, species and population counts, migration patterns, and seasonal trends within this area.

However, the 2024 Muan Airport Bird Strike Risk Management Plan set the actual prevention activity area at 5 km. This means the management range was reduced compared to the legal standard.

Assemblywoman Jeon stated, “The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Airports Corporation must clarify whether the 13 km standard, clearly defined in the ministry’s notification, was applied at Muan Airport,” adding, “It is necessary to verify the facts throughout the entire process, from setting the risk management range to the information provided to pilots.”

According to the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) system operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the bird information for Muan Airport provided to pilots was also based on a 5 km radius.

Assemblywoman Jeon plans to review whether the notification standards were applied, the process of establishing the risk management plan, and the scope and adequacy of the information provided to pilots in the National Assembly investigation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Airports Corporation on January 15.