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BreakingNews.ie
7 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Dublin Airport flights suffer 278 bird strikes despite €600,000 spent on ‘scaring' measures
There have been 278 bird strikes at Dublin Airport in the past three years despite management spending around €600,000 on 'scaring' measures designed to keep flocks away from the runways. Aircraft also struck hares a total of 42 times during the same period, prompting Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to conduct catch-and-release operations that involved hares being relocated to Wicklow and Kildare. Advertisement Bird strikes are potentially lethal events that can cause significant damage to planes and can result in jet engines losing power. Affected aircraft often need to abort their takeoff or landing attempts. Last year, 179 passengers were killed when a Jeju Air flight crashed in South Korea following a suspected bird strike, while the landing of a US Airways plane on the Hudson River in 2009 following a collision with a flock of geese was the subject of the Hollywood blockbuster, Sully. Just last month, an Aer Lingus flight bound for New York was forced to return to Dublin Airport after it hit a flock of pigeons during its ascent. The pilots reported experiencing vibrations in the aircraft's right engine after the strike. Advertisement Documents released by DAA under Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) regulations show that 61 confirmed bird strikes were recorded in 2022, and this number more than doubled to 123 the following year. In 2024, a total of 85 bird strikes were confirmed at Dublin Airport, and another eight occurred during the first two months of this year. An additional 14 unconfirmed bird strikes have been recorded since 2022. Trained professionals are employed at the airport to scare birds in a bid to reduce the number of strikes, and around €200,000 is spent on bird-scaring cartridges alone each year, according to DAA. These explode in mid-air after they are fired, creating a loud noise that scares birds in the vicinity of the airport. A 'long-grass' policy is also used to make the airfield less attractive to certain species of birds. Advertisement Meanwhile, Dublin Airport is licensed to capture hares using a consultant approved by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). A total of 12 were captured and subsequently released in Wicklow and Kildare during the first two months of this year. Each catch-and-release operation costs around €1,500, according to documents released by DAA. A spokesman for the airport authority said the safety of passengers is a 'key priority'. 'Like all airports around the world, ensuring safety requires us to deal with and actively manage wildlife in the vicinity of our airfield, thereby minimising any risk to aviation,' he added.
The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US joint venture BetMGM helps Entain to beat expectations
A flurry of bets on the football Club World Cup and summer tennis tournaments helped the UK gambling company Entain to better-than-expected results, helping it brace for looming tax rises in its domestic market. The owner of brands including Ladbrokes and Coral reported an 11% rise in underlying profits to £583m in the first half of the year, on revenues that rose 3% to nearly £2.6bn. At BetMGM, Entain's 50%-owned US joint venture, revenues rose by more than a third. US sports betting continues to grow rapidly following the supreme court's overturning in 2018 of a decades-old ban on the practice. But Entain also performed strongly in its home market, with online gambling revenues up 21% in the UK and Ireland. Entain said the Club World Cup, held in the US earlier this summer, had delivered 'fantastic results' for the company, despite a muted response to the tournament in the UK. Entain describes Brazil as one of its 'must win' markets, alongside the UK and US, and it has a partnership with the São Paulo team – and Club World Cup participant – Palmeiras. The company said this helped boost local interest in betting on the tournament. The Club World Cup final, between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, was the year's most popular event by the number of bets taken. The French Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments also delivered new records for the company, amid surging interest from gamblers in a sport whose design inherently creates opportunities to place rapid-fire wagers. Female tennis players have spoken out this year about the abuse they receive, often from gamblers frustrated by having lost bets. Entain's chief executive, Stella David, appointed earlier this year after her predecessor, Gavin Isaacs, departed suddenly after five months, said the results showed the company was 'getting stronger, fitter and faster'. Entain's improved fortunes in the UK could cushion the blow if the Treasury goes ahead with plans to target the gambling industry with higher taxes, as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, casts around for ways to plug a fiscal hole. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Gordon Brown, the former prime minister who also served a decade as chancellor, recently called for gambling duties to increase by £3bn, from about £2.5bn at present, to pay for lifting the two-child cap on benefits. The Treasury is expected to increase taxes levied on the sector, albeit by a smaller amount than Brown has suggested.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Linfield's European qualifier live on BBC Sport NI
The second leg of Linfield's Uefa Conference League third qualifying round tie against Vikingur will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport will begin at 19:40 BST with kick-off at Windsor Park set for 19:45 BST on Sport's Thomas Kane will be joined on commentary by former Linfield manager David Premiership champions Linfield, who began their defence of the Gibson Cup with a win against Dungannon Swifts at the weekend, trail 2-1 to the side from the Faroe Islands after last week's first leg in Torshavn. The winners of the tie will go on to face the losers of the tie between Croatians Rijeka and Shelbourne, with the Irish side ahead after the first leg.
