Swarm of bees holds Air India flight hostage

Mumbai: Honey bees that descended in droves on an Air India airbus on Monday only took airport authorities by surprise and delayed departure by 20 minutes.
Authorities readying an Air India plane for a Raipur-Bhubaneshwar flight could not open the plane’s door for close to 30 minutes as the bees refused to disperse. The airbus was on its way to its designated parking bay near the A-3 aerobridge at about 9.30 am when the airline’s ground staff spotted the honey bees swarming around the aircraft door.
An airline official said, “We had attached the step ladders to the aircraft so that passengers could start boarding. But the bee attack prevented them from entering the plane. The airline staff then decided to call officials of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to carry out fogging.”
However, despite the fogging, the problem persisted for quite some time. An airline spokesperson said that the flight, which was to depart at 10.20 am, finally left at 10.40 am.
Airport sources also complained that parking bays M1, M2 and M3 at the international terminal are infested with mosquitoes. One reason is because these bays are situated close to the airport perimeter overlooking slums and a nullah.
30/03/10 Aneesh Phadnis/Mumbai Mirror

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Categories: Air India Domestic Mar 2010, Airports Mar 2010, NACIL Mar 2010