Aviation safety

Milan airports have an effective Safety Management System (SMS) validated and monitored by ENAC, ensuring the highest levels of aviation safety and quality of service through the maintenance of flight infrastructure and systems, operating processes and procedures and the training of personnel.
Every month, Safety Boards and Safety Committees of Linate and Malpensa consult and review the topics forming the basis of the Safety Management System, ensuring comprehensive and widespread discussion of operational safety issues. The active participation of all airport operators, airlines, institutional bodies and actors of various businesses at the two airports enables a broad consultation and a constructive discussion of main topics.
To monitor effectiveness of airport’s Safety Management System, SEA uses some quantitative elements related to both Linate and Malpensa. Indicators of the main events at SEA’s airports did not reveal any particular problems from the point of view of maintaining adequate aviation safety levels. The percentage of three significant indicators compared to the GSRs (Ground Safety Reports) received is shown below.
In 2015, 641 GSRs were received for Malpensa and 701 for Linate. Indicators of the main events at SEA’s airports did not highlight any particular problems from the point of view of maintaining adequate aviation safety levels, in fact they showed a definite improvement in safety performance.

Wildlife Strikes: prevention and monitoring
Prevention and monitoring of wildlife strikes is governed by “Bird and Wildlife Strike Risk Reduction Plan” and the related Operating Procedure, both included in airport manuals (separate for Linate and Malpensa) and drawn up by SEA as airport operator, in accordance with ENAC Circular APT 16/2004 and certified by the body itself. They are also periodically subject to audits by authority and by internal personnel.
Specific aspects of bird strikes are addressed in ENAC Circular APT-01B “Guidelines on procedures to be followed for the prevention of bird impact risks at airports”, in line with ICAO Annex 14. Both Plan and Operational Procedure follow the circular’s guidelines, ensuring a constant monitoring and removal of birds and fauna from grounds.
Particular attention is given to manoeuvring area by using modern equipment available on international market. To support this activity, SEA relies on BCI (Bird Control Italy, the leading Italian bird strike prevention company, which carries out its activity in most domestic airports).
All interventions are documented with bird strike monitoring forms and bird strike reporting forms, which are entered in a database managed through a software application called “Bird Strike Management System”.
Compared to 2014, bird strike reports at Linate and Malpensa are basically unchanged, as can be seen from annual rate on 10,000 movements and the risk indicator (BRI2) in the table.

Wildlife strike risk indicators

SEA continues to monitor and manage the issue by implementing systematic prevention and mitigation actions, such as increased deterrence, using products after grass mowing to control invertebrate populations, and a campaign to contain avian species and worms. At Malpensa, the different natural environment, the behaviours of hazardous species (pigeons, crows, kestrels, etc.), combined with good management of vegetation help to limit wildlife’s interference with air traffic.