Now Reading
New York Bound Flight Turns Back After Flying Bat Discovered in Passenger Cabin

New York Bound Flight Turns Back After Flying Bat Discovered in Passenger Cabin

An Air India flight to Newark, New York was forced to return to Delhi after a live bat caused panic when it started flying through the passenger cabin according to local media reports and video posted to social media.

Air India flight AI105 departed Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 2:30 am on Thursday but the bat was spotted just a short time after takeoff, flight data provided by Flightradar24 reveals.

According to sources cited by the Economic Times, the bat was first spotted in the eighth row and the pilots were then informed. After a discussion with air traffic control, the Boeing 777 aircraft was forced into a holding pattern over an unpopulated area in order to jettison fuel so that it could safely return to Dehli airport.

The aircraft landed safely back where it started nearly two hours after departure.

Sources claim the aircraft was treated to a deep clean and fumigation after arrival. The airline has so far failed to respond to requests for comment on the incident.

Flights between India and the United States are currently restricted to U.S. citizens, as well as permanent U.S. residents and their family members. Some other non-U.S. citizens, including students, are also allowed to fly from India to the United States under a Proclamation signed by President Biden to limit the risk of the B.1.617 COVID-19 variant being spread in the U.S.

The original version of this article cited local media which initially reported that a dead bat carcass had been found onboard. The article has since been updated following publication of a passenger video showing the live bat flying through the cabin.

View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2023 paddleyourownkanoo.com All Rights Reserved.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to paddleyourownkanoo.com with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.