Managing Bird Strikes to Aircraft at Kai Tak Airport in British Hong Kong, 1960–1980

This article examines the incidents of bird strikes in Kai Tak Airport of Hong Kong from the 1960s to the 1970s, focusing on how the Hong Kong government perceived, investigated, and managed the problem. Drawing on archival sources, it argues that the increasing frequency of bird strikes was not merely a consequence of the global expansion of commercial aviation and advances in aircraft engine technology but was also closely related to Hong Kong's distinctive urban environment and ecological conditions. The article further shows that the colonial government repeatedly sought assistance from Britain, demonstrating that bird strikes were both a global aviation concern and an issue embedded within the colonial relationship between Hong Kong and London. Finally, it contends that nearly two decades of research and policy responses to bird strikes had a lasting influence on airport bird management practices and on the development of bird conservation in Hong Kong.