When King Shaka International Airport opened in 2010, Sihle Mchunu was among the first young employees stepping into a brand-new aviation world as staff prepared to welcome the FIFA World Cup.

Today, she is a wildlife officer at the same airport, a role that quietly plays a critical part in flight safety.
Sihle works in Bird and Wildlife Management, a specialised unit responsible for preventing wildlife, especially birds, from entering aircraft operational areas.

While passengers focus on check-in counters and boarding gates, her team focuses on runways, surrounding airspace and the natural environment at the airport.

“It is about making sure wildlife does not interfere with safe take-offs and landings.”

Her work involves daily patrols of airport grounds, monitoring bird activity, identifying risks and using various control methods to keep aircraft operations safe.

It is a constant balance between protecting aviation safety and respecting the surrounding ecosystem.
One of the key tools in this work is a trained dog used for wildlife control support. It is part of a wider system that combines observation, quick response and environmental awareness.

Sihle did not start in this field. She joined the airport as a customer service agent, helping passengers navigate the busy terminal during its early days. Over time, she discovered interests in other parts of the airport, and she moved through different departments before finding her place in wildlife management.

“It was never planned, but I grew into it.”

Her time at King Shaka has ranged from the excitement of international travellers during the World Cup to the challenges of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now, after 16 years, she sees her journey as one shaped by growth and adaptation. As a woman in a technical, male-dominated field, she says she learnt to earn respect through consistency and hard work rather than expectation.

Outside work, she is a wife and mother balancing early shifts with family life in Inanda. Looking back, she says KSIA gave her more than a job, it gave her a career she never imagined.

“I never thought I would end up here. But I am proud of where I am,” she said.