120 passengers were offloaded and airplane fumigated before taking off the next day
120 passengers were offloaded and airplane fumigated before taking off the next dayu00a0
A scurrying rat in a plane forced officials to ground the aircraft, leaving 120 passengers stranded at the Dubai International Airport on Friday evening.
Air India flight 746, operating daily between Dubai and Delhi, was scheduled for take off at 16.55 hrs on Friday but was cancelled and passengers offloaded because a rat was spotted on board by the ground support staff.
The ground support staff conducts routine checks of every aircraft prior to departure, and AI flight 746 was also subjected to the same procedure, during which the rat was spotted momentarily in the aircraft.
According to procedure, the ground support personnel could not clear the aircraft for take off after that.
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Technicians were informed and a thorough search was conducted thereafter, to see if any damage had been done to wiring and insulation within the aircraft.
Since visibility was low and it was difficult to spot the tiny creature, technicians decided that it would be best to fumigate the entire plane and neutralise the rat threat.
An Air India spokesperson from Delhi said, "Yes it is true that flight 746, which was scheduled to operate on Friday got cancelled after the ground staff identified the movement of a rat inside the aircraft, and since the fumigation process required time, the scheduled flight was cancelled."
During the entire episode, the offloaded passengers were accommodated at the airport.
"The passengers were informed about the cancellation, and the same flight operated as scheduled on Saturday with all the passengers," added the spokesperson.
Rodent Menace
February 2010: Riyadh-bound Air India flight AI 923 was delayed by more than four hours after a passenger noticed a rat minutes before take off.
September 2009: Air India's London-bound flight from Amritsar, AI 187 was delayed by nearly eight hours after a passenger spotted a rat on board.
