Now, it's the turn of rats to ground IA flight

Now, it's the turn of rats to ground IA flight
SANDEEP PHUKAN

NEW DELHI, JULY 15: If you decide to take an Indian Airlines flight, you can never be too sure who or what prevents you from flying. On July 12, the Indian Airlines flight IC-540 to Chennai was eventually grounded after a delay of two hours and a half as some ``intruders'' were found on board. This time around, the intruders were rats.

The scheduled time of the flight IC-540 -- flying on the Kathmandu-New Delhi-Chennai sector -- was 7.15 pm. However, the flight from Calcutta landed late. After this delay, the passengers were asked to board the plane at about 9.30 pm. The plane had only begun moving on the runway when the pilot of the flight, Captain Govind, smelled a rat and announced that the flight would have to be halted.

The passengers were asked to disembark from the aircraft as it had to be fumigated. The passengers on the flight complained of shabby treatment on part of the airline staff. The passengers were reportedly made to sit for a long time at the domestic terminal building. They had no clue of what was going on as the airline staff did not keep them properly informed about the fate of the flight. Also, reportedly there were no senior airline officials at the spot to handle the situation. Finally, the harried passengers were accommodated in the Centaur Hotel at about 12.45.

Some passengers even complained of poor facilities at the hotel. An official said: ``There may be isolated incidents of one or two passengers getting upset with the poor facilities of the hotel. But overall, the hotel has good facilities. As far as the fumigation is concerned, it is necessary from the point of view of the safety of the aircraft.''

Fumigation is carried out, sources say, whenever a rat is spotted in a plane because rats could snap any of the numerous wires inside the plane, thereby causing great risk to the passengers on board. ``A rat on board could create havoc as it could chew off all the wires which are there in an aircraft,'' says the official. The whole process takes about five-six hours.

When contacted, Regional Director (North) of Indian Airlines, V P Arora, told the The Indian Express: ``We will look into the incident as how there were rodents inside the aircraft. There will certainly be a follow-up action to this.'' Asked how could rats make into the interior of the aircraft, the director said: ``Though nothing could be said at this stage but it could have gone through the catering material that is supplied to the airline.''