A Boeing 777-300 of Air India, the government owned airline, on Thursday landed back in New Delhi after a bat was seen on board. As per reports, cabin crew saw a bat’s carcass in business class. The flight was headed to Newark in the US.
“Flight AI-105 returned to Delhi following the announcement of this local emergency. On arrival, it was reported that the crew saw a bat inside the cockpit. Wildlife officials were called in to catch and carry the bat. The plane landed safely near 03:55 AM ” said the representative of the Department of civil aviation.
He said that after the plane landed, it was fumigated, after which a bat was found in the area of the eighth row of the plane’s seats. The passengers flew to Newark on the replacement Air India plane.
Air India is frequently in the news because of rats found onboard. Recently the airline’s domestic service Air India Express had to apologise to a passenger after a dead cockroach was found in the food served to him.
The loss making Air India is a grossly under-rated and much maligned airline by the international travelers, but, earns kudos during crisis when the airline flies in stranded Indians from overseas. The airline’s passenger system SITA PSS suffered a cyber security attack in February this year, compromising 4.5 Million Customers’ Data.