Mumbai: Hundreds of passengers were shocked and irked when the take-off of the Air India (441) Delhi-Aurangabad-Mumbai flight was delayed by two hours, thanks to a rat inside the national carrier.
According to reports, the flight was packed with passengers going to Mumbai.
State minister for employment guarantee scheme, Nitin Raut, noticed a rodent which jumped on his feet. Mr Raut, who himself a pilot with 1,200 hours flying experience, took no time to alert the cabin crew and the message was passed on to the pilot and his assistants in the cockpit. Next moment, the flight made a U-turn and came to a grinding halt. All passengers were told to deplane and get into the waiting lounge till the next instruction is given. The baggages of the passengers were also removed from the cargo and the crew started to search for the rodent. Each corner, seat, luggage box was minutely searched by the AI ground staffers, but in vain. The plane was finally fogged after which the rodent jumped out of the flight, much to the relief of the AI staffers.
Finally, the passengers went through yet another security and check-in process and got into the rodent-free flight which took off for Mumbai at 7.30 pm.
17/02/14 Sudhir Dharmadhikari/Asian Age
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According to reports, the flight was packed with passengers going to Mumbai.
State minister for employment guarantee scheme, Nitin Raut, noticed a rodent which jumped on his feet. Mr Raut, who himself a pilot with 1,200 hours flying experience, took no time to alert the cabin crew and the message was passed on to the pilot and his assistants in the cockpit. Next moment, the flight made a U-turn and came to a grinding halt. All passengers were told to deplane and get into the waiting lounge till the next instruction is given. The baggages of the passengers were also removed from the cargo and the crew started to search for the rodent. Each corner, seat, luggage box was minutely searched by the AI ground staffers, but in vain. The plane was finally fogged after which the rodent jumped out of the flight, much to the relief of the AI staffers.
Finally, the passengers went through yet another security and check-in process and got into the rodent-free flight which took off for Mumbai at 7.30 pm.
17/02/14 Sudhir Dharmadhikari/Asian Age
