United Nigeria Airlines is facing severe operational disruption after recording three bird strikes within 48 hours, forcing multiple aircraft out of service and triggering widespread delays.

The latest incident involved an Embraer 190 operating Flight UN0561 from Benin to Abuja, which suffered damage shortly after take-off and was grounded for inspection.

The airline confirmed that the aircraft sustained impact damage to its landing gear assembly, necessitating immediate withdrawal from operations.

The fresh incident follows two earlier bird strikes within a 24-hour period, affecting both landing and arrival flights, including a CRJ-900 aircraft from Kano and another at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

These back-to-back occurrences have now brought the airline’s total bird strike count for 2026 to seven, with at least three aircraft grounded in under two days.

While bird strikes are not uncommon in aviation, the frequency and clustering of these events have raised concerns about operational risk and airport wildlife management.

Aviation analysts have described the pattern as unusual, pointing to possible gaps in wildlife control systems around airports and surrounding environments.

The airline maintains that it only reports incidents that result in significant damage requiring grounding, but acknowledges rising pressure on its fleet and schedules.

In response, it has called on the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to strengthen wildlife hazard management, as repeated disruptions continue to strain operations and affect passenger travel reliability across its network.