Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Kite-flying, dove-raising ban in agenda Tuesday
A PROPOSAL to amend the Davao International Airport Safety Ordinance is set for discussion in Tuesday's regular session of the City Council.
Proposed by Councilor Peter T. Laviña, an amendment to the ordinance aims to ban kite flying and raising doves or any free-flying birds of any kind within 10 miles from the Davao International Airport.
If the ban is passed, kite flying and dove raising will only be allowed from Barangay Dumoy to Toril district as the 10-mile distance extends up to Lasang in the north and Bago in the south.
This means kite flying and raising doves will no longer be allowed in the whole of downtown area and Agdao, where residences abound and kite flying and dove raising are a hit.
Laviña, in an earlier interview, said the move was in response to a letter sent by airport management to the office of the city mayor requesting an amendment to the existing law to specify the 10-mile delineation.
According to Laviña, airport management became concerned after the UH-1 Huey helicopter crash in Mactan, Cebu was attributed to a kite string getting entangled in the rotor.
Airlines operating in the city have also complained that they have experienced engine troubles from birds getting sucked in by jet engines.
"They just want to avoid accidents. That is why they are aiming for this amendment on the city's airport security ordinance which was crafted in the 1940's," Laviña said.
The 10-mile distance is based on the standards set by the International Air Transport Association. (GLP)
