system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are birds not a major problem at airports?
gpt
They are! That's why airports go to extreme lengths to keep birds away.  Airports use many techniques to keep the area clear of birds, such as:

* Eliminating bird habitats. Birds usually come to the airport  area due to the availability of food sources. Denial of food to birds by  eliminating the sources (like landfills, garbage, crops, dumps etc)  will reduce the chance of birdstirke by eliminating the source. It also helps to keep the airport and surrounding areas unattractive  to birds (for example, by eliminating water stagnation, vegetation cover etc) as it prevents the birds from nesting there.
* Scaring them away. A number of airports use a number of bird  repellents like pyrotechnics, cannons (mostly just prior to aircraft  approach to prevent bird habituation), chemical repellents etc.  
 In some cases, specially trained animals (like falcons, dogs etc) have been used to scare away the birds or they are trapped.
* Killing the birds in the area, though this drastic step is usually not implemented except in the most extreme cases. In general, the nesting sites of birds are destroyed to prevent them from staying permanently near the airport.