Airports have a key role to play in championing a city’s or country’s craft, culture, tastes and traditions. For visitors they offer the first and last impression of the locality, for that city’s citizens they provide a source of civic pride. An arts & culture programme connects passengers to a place in the same way an airport connects them to the world. Many airport companies embrace that role with pride and passion as we explore in our regular column.
LATVIA. Riga Airport has unveiled Scarecrows, a new documentary by acclaimed Latvian filmmaker Laila Pakalniņa, shining a spotlight on the hidden operations that keep the airport running safely.
The film, which premiered nationwide on 27 February, leads into the Latvian National Film Awards, where it is nominated in four categories.
Produced by VFS Films, Scarecrows has been described as an “airport western” – a gripping and visually striking exploration of the “runway rangers” who manage daily wildlife encounters on the runways of Riga Airport.
Director Laila Pakalniņa said: “For me, every film begins with curiosity – with the desire to find out and to tell others what lies at the heart of something. In this case – the airport. So now you know – at the heart of the airport, there is a poem. What it looks and sounds like – that is what this film is about.”
The film comes highly recommended for the aviation community, offering a rare cinematic insight into wildlife hazard management and the daily, largely unseen work that ensures safe flight operations.
For the general public, Scarecrows serves as a visually striking meditation on coexistence – “a reminder that the fences built for humans cannot fully protect every life”.
Taking five years and all four Latvian seasons to capture, the film transports viewers into a paradoxical space, with a bustling citadel of global travel, encircled by forests, meadows and waterways where different species cross paths – each with its own route.
Behind every flight departure is a largely unseen, high-stakes operation. Bird and wildlife control specialists, called ‘scarecrows’ in radio communications with air traffic control, work daily to prevent potentially dangerous encounters between aircraft and animals.
They are armed with flare guns, nets, vehicle sirens and persistence, steering birds from taxiways, chasing rabbits off runways and tackling even the occasional misplaced worm.
The film combines the cinematography of Māris Maskalāns with raw, on-the-ground footage shot by wildlife control officer Mareks Arbidāns, offering viewers access to parts of the airport that are usually off-limits.
RIX Riga Airport Chairperson Laila Odiņa said: “Airports are often seen purely as infrastructure, as places of movement, efficiency and technology. This film reminds us that an airport is also part of a living ecosystem.
“The daily work of our wildlife control team is essential to flight safety, yet largely invisible to passengers. We are proud that Scarecrows brings professional aviation safety practices into the public eye while showing the delicate balance between global connectivity and the natural environment that surrounds us.” ✈
