A Vistara flight from Bengaluru returned without landing at its destination at the Dabolim airport in Goa after a stray dog was spotted on the runway, a senior airport official told PTI on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday afternoon.
After the stray dog was spotted, the pilot was asked to hold the flight for some time but “he preferred to return to Bengaluru,” Goa airport’s director SVT Dhanamjaya Rao told the news agency. The flight UK 881 left from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at 12.55 pm on Monday and returned at 3.05 pm.
Giving updates about the flight, Vistara wrote on its X handle, “#DiversionUpdate: Flight UK881 from Bengaluru to Goa (BLR-GOI) has been diverted to Bengaluru (BLR) due to runway restriction at Goa (GOI) airport and is expected to arrive in Bengaluru at 1505hrs.”
Later, after the runway was cleared the flight landed at Goa airport safely.
Announcing the news, the airline wrote on X, “#DiversionUpdate2: Flight UK881 which was diverted to Bengaluru has departed from Bengaluru at 1655 hours and is expected to arrive in Goa at 1815 hours.”
Speaking about the incident, Goa airport director SVT Dhanamjaya Rao said, “This is the first such incident in my tenure of last one-and-a-half years.”
Flight diversions occur when an aircraft is redirected from its original destination to an alternative airport. There are various reasons for flight diversions, and they can occur before takeoff, during the flight, or even during the landing approach. Some of the common reasons for flight diversions include adverse weather conditions, air traffic control restrictions, medical emergencies, or other technical issues.