Marco Polo airport near Venice was unexpectedly closed before the weekend. Fortunately, the interruption in the operation of the airport did not turn out to be long, and it was all due to… seagulls.
Venice is famous, among other things, for its canals, gondolas, the acqua alta phenomenon and seagulls, the presence of which has become increasingly problematic in recent years. Many tourists complain that these birds steal their food.
On Friday, seagulls somewhat spoiled the plans of passengers using Marco Polo airport, located 12 kilometers north of the center of Venice. It is the fifth busiest airport in Italy and one of the largest in the north of the country.
The airport was closed for two hours
In the morning, a flock of about 200 birds gathered at the end of the runway. It was decided to temporarily close the airport. The break lasted from 9.54 to 10.45, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Some of the planes were redirected to other airports – to Treviso, Verona, Trieste and Milan. The airport returned to normal operation at 11.20.
Save, the airport management company, said that “after detecting the problem, standard actions necessary to ensure the full safety of passengers and operators were initiated.” A falconer took care of driving the seagulls away from the runway. “Fauna-friendly acoustic repellents” were also used.
BBC, The Guardian, ANSA, CNN
Main photo source: Shutterstock – photo illustrative