Last Saturday, an Air India flight from Melbourne to Delhi had to be diverted to Singapore.
It is believed that the reason for this was a rat, spotted on board.
Upon reaching Singapore, the plane was fumigated and passengers transferred to another flight which took them to India.
And this is not the first time this has happened. Infact, it was the third instance of grounding of an Air India aircraft due to rats.
Earlier, rats have been spotted on an aircraft between Birmingham and Delhi and also on Delhi-Frankfurt flight.
Rodents on aircraft could prove to be hazardous. Rats can mess with cables and wiring inside the aircraft and therefore the only way to deal with these ‘unwanted guests’ is to fumigate the entire aircraft.
The recent developments led Air India Chairman Ashwani Lohani to carry out the inspection at Delhi airport and the staff have been advised to ensure strict maintenance and cleanliness of the hi-lift trucks used by catering companies and to take immediate action to clean and fumigate the aircraft if a rodent is seen.
“We are tightening the maintenance and cleanliness of food hi-lifts by private caterers. I did a long inspection on the ramp today and am certain things will improve,” Lohani .
