An Air India flight from Mumbai to London returned to the city after six hours when a passenger complained about spotting a rat on board. The engineering team of the airline is now investigating the matter and a probe has been ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
A senior official from DGCA confirmed the incident and told The Asian Age, “Yes, we have ordered a probe and are checking where the aircraft was parked and how the rat entered the aircraft. If needed, action will be taken if someone is found responsible. We are also checking if the rat has damaged the aircraft as security of the aircraft is most important.”
Air India sources said, -"The aircraft — VT ANQ — a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was flying over Tehran airspace at about 1 pm, when a passenger informed the cabin crew that he had spotted a rat. Immediately, the message was conveyed to pilots Capt Rajesh Pathak and Capt Mukund Thorat, who, as per standard operating procedure (SOP), decided to return to Mumbai immediately. Accordingly, the Air traffic control tower of the city airport was informed, which provided priority landing to this aircraft.”
A source said that the rat was spotted around 9.30am but the process took time and subsequently, the decision to return to Mumbai was taken. This aircraft had originally taken off from Ahmedabad at 4.30am, arrived in Mumbai at 5.45am and departed for London at 7.05am. The official spokesperson of AI said, “AI 131, Mumbai to London, returned to Mumbai today due to suspected rat sighting. Though the presence of the rodent was not confirmed but keeping passenger safety in mind, the aircraft was brought back. A standby aircraft was made available to fly the passengers to London. The aircraft with the suspected rodent is being fumigated as per procedure in such cases of rodent sighting.”
