Passengers object to the birds inside Kolkata-Mumbai flight; Crew asks passenger to remove goggles
It was a bird-hit of a different kind. Air India flight AI 676, from Kolkata to Mumbai, got delayed by about an hour on Wednesday morning because of some caged parrots on board.
As the parrots started whistling and talking continuously, passengers were irritated and fuming.
Varsha Sethia, a marketing professional, who was on board the flight, said in a series of tweets: “ A passenger is carrying parrots on #AirIndia flight. And they are whistling! :)) Crew clueless why it was allowed.”
One of the passengers insisted that the parrots be off-loaded as he could get allergy from its dust and feathers. “Someone objected on grounds of allergy. Now bird de-boarded. Flight even more late. Everyone shouting,” Sethia said in her second tweet.
After off loading the parrots, AI 676 took off about an hour later from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport.
An airline official said that a passenger carried two parrots, along with him, after complying with airline rules. They were kept in a cage in the passengers' section. However, two co-passengers objected to the presence of parrots on health grounds. Hence, parrots were moved to the cargo section.
Senior officers of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) said, generally, animals and birds of permissible species are allowed to be carried in cages and to be kept in the cargo section.
On rare occasions, they can be carried in the passenger's section but with health and vaccine certification from veterinarians. “Though it is not illegal, birds/animals are rarely taken in the passenger section,” said a senior Air India crew member.
In the same flight, one of the passengers wearing goggles was asked to remove it by crew members, apparently due to safety reasons. “This flight is a live circus! Crew objected to a passenger wearing sunglasses for take off.
Security reasons they say!,” Sethia further tweeted.
An airline source said that one can stop a passenger from wearing goggles inside the flight only if he is a suspected criminal. “The crew member here has, obviously, over-reacted,” he said.
The Air India official, who commented on the parrots, did not comment on the goggle episode.
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