Stop that pigeon, now! Some passengers didn't see the funny side of the flying stowaways. Photo / Supplied
Passengers on an international flight were all aflutter after having a pair of feathered stowaways join them in Economy.
A GoAir plane service between Ahmedabad International and Jaipur Airport was preparing for takeoff when a pair of pigeons joined the flight.
Like a cartoon caper out of "Stop the Pigeon" cabin crew and passengers were filmed chasing the birds from one end of the cabin to the other.
ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2020
The scene was recorded by TV Journalist Nirnay Kapoor, who posted a video to Twitter showing the hapless flight crew in a flap.
Both birds were eventually ejected from the flight and the airline apologised to its customers.
"We understand this was not the travel experience you were hoping for and we're sorry," GoAir posted via its Twitter account.
The comic scene of bungling would be worthy of some Muttley-like snickering, if the danger wasn't so serious.
Kapoor noted that the airline had experienced a similar incident with unruly birds at the beginning of the month, with bird strike causing an engine fire at the same airport.
On February 18, The Hindu reported that another GoAir flight from Ahmedabad suffered an engine fire and damaged fan blade after a bird was ingested into the right engine on takeoff.
Fortunately all passengers were able to deplane safely and were put on another aircraft, after the engine fire had been doused.
At the time officials said they would "take all measures to keep the bird and monkey menace under check," after complaints that the resident population of birds and langur monkeys had become a menace to flights.
While monkeys are a very localised problem, bird strike is a universal concern for pilots and airlines. Airports have been trying for years to come up with a solution to clear birds from their runways.
Like something out of Stop the Pigeon various Dick Dastardly-inspired gadgets such as high-pitch bird scarers, scarecrows and even airport falconry experts are helping clear the runway and airspace of potential bird strike incidents.
A spokesperson for the GoAir told local media that the "pigeons were found their way inside GoAir Ahmedabad-Jaipur flight G8 702 while passengers were on-boarding. The crew immediately got the birds shooed away outside. The flight took off as per its scheduled time of 17:00 hours."
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