Yangon, May 19, 2019: Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited (“YACL”), the operator of Yangon International Airport (“YIA”), today announced it has completed a two-week foreign object debris (“FOD”) campaign in line with its commitment to safe, secure and efficient airport operations.
The campaign was geared towards preventing damage caused to aircraft and injuries to people involved in the airside operations of the airport. It ran throughout the first half of May 2019 and aims to raise awareness on the effects of FOD.
FOD are inanimate objects within the airport’s movement area which have no operational or aeronautical function but has the potential to be a hazard to aircraft operations. Such objects include unattended garbage, bolts, and nails, small aircraft parts, as well as pieces of concrete and bitumen.
This year’s FOD campaign addressed two main areas: Taxiways, and Apron, where loose objects have the highest potential to create damage. Left uncleared, these objects could damage aircraft engines or tyres, or if projected by a jet blast, could cause injury to staff.
Costs due to FOD-related damage are significant, ranging from engine or tyres repairs, flight delays, and cancellations, among others.
The FOD Control Program consisted of three areas: Training, Inspection, and Coordination. Participants were taught how to accurately identify, eliminate, and report the presence of FOD, and were briefed on the standard operating procedures for daily inspection.
Throughout the entire campaign, a total of 238 participants, from various entities such as Aviation Police, Airlines Partners, Ground Handling Agents, Asia World Company Construction, Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited (“YACL”), among others, took part in the campaign, clearing over 86.5kg of FOD across 258056 square metres of land.
