Lappeenranta airport granted permit to cull endangered birds and destroy nests

Lappeenranta Airport in southeastern Finland has been granted a five-year permit to kill endangered bird species and destroy their nests, despite the airport currently having no scheduled passenger flights, Yle reports.

The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) approved the measure on aviation safety grounds, according to airport CEO Jukka Himanen. While the airport lacks regular route traffic, it still hosts charter, training, and medical transport flights, as well as general aviation.

Bird strikes pose a rare but serious risk to aircraft, Himanen noted, citing examples from other Finnish airports. In 2023–2024, Kauhava Airport—used primarily for hobby flying—reported culling 740 birds, including 30 endangered lesser black-backed gulls. Most bird strike incidents, however, occur at Helsinki-Vantaa and Tampere-Pirkkala, Finland’s busiest airports.

Non-lethal deterrence is prioritised at Lappeenranta, where staff first use noise-making pyrotechnics to scare birds from runways. “We only resort to shooting in cases where birds refuse to leave,” Himanen said, adding that annual culling numbers remain low, typically in the single digits. Before any large aircraft landing, the runway is inspected for birds, animals, and debris, with ground crews using pyrotechnics to disperse wildlife if needed.

The airport’s grassy areas, home to protected species like the northern lapwing, also support insects and butterflies in a regionally significant sun-exposed habitat. To minimise nesting, the airfield keeps vegetation short, destroying any eggs or nests found during mowing. “It’s the most effective prevention method,” Himanen stated.

The future of the underused airport remains uncertain, with a municipal proposal on its operations expected by the end of April.