China Southern Airlines to Study Bird Strikes at New Baiyun International Airport

China Southern Airlines (NYSE: ZNH) (HKSE: 1055), the largest airline in The People's Republic of China is pleased to announce that the China Southern Endangered Animal Institute & Bird Avoidance Committee has commissioned a new study on bird strikes at the massive New Baiyun International Airport.

This newly commissioned study will be the first investigation program of its kind to study the migration of birds in China.

The New Baiyun International Airport will be the largest airport in China and is slated to open in October 2003.

Bird strikes - where birds hit aircraft or get sucked up into jet engines - can cause millions of dollars in damages to the aviation industry and can also have fatal consequences. Bird and other wildlife strikes to aircraft annually cause over $500 Million (USD) in damage to civil and military aviation. Furthermore, these strikes put the lives of aircraft crew members and their passengers at risk. 

More than over 400 people have been killed as a result of bird strikes. In the United States alone there have been 38,000 bird-aircraft strikes, which have killed 33 aviators, destroyed 30 aircraft and caused more than $500 million in equipment damage since 1985.

For example: a 12-lb Canadian goose striking an commuter aircraft at take-off generates the same force as a 1,000-lb weight dropped from a height of 10 feet.

The world aviation community has a long way to go to solve this dilemma. China Southern Airlines will be working diligently to study the migration, feeding habits and ecological environment around the new airport complex. In addition, the airline will work with the new airport's management on how to properly organize aviary research, track similar experiences around the world at other airports and translate that into "real world" solutions for Southern China. Plans call for China Southern Airlines' completed report to be presented at a seminar hosted by the International Bird Strike Committee, www.int-birdstrike.com.

The largest airline in The People's Republic of China for the past 23 years, China Southern Airlines connects more than 80 cities around the globe. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include: Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan and as well as International service, including: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Osaka, Penang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.