Intruder' escapes after flight diverted from India to Singapore to Dubai

Dubai, Apr 20: A Melbourne-Delhi Air India (AI) flight was forced to divert to Singapore after a rat scare, but pest controllers have been unable to trap the rat, according to reports in Indian media.

"When the aircraft was diverted to Singapore last Saturday (April 16), passengers were deplaned. After that the plane (VT-ANV) was taken to a remote bay at Changi Airport. We got the local pest control agencies there to lay glue boxes there. These boxes are checked every four hours to see if the rodent has been trapped," a news paper quoted an AI official.

After four hours, when Singapore pest controllers went to check they found the rat was not trapped.

AI flew the aircraft to Delhi, where it got another round of fumigation and rat trap treatment. Later, the same plane did a short flight to Dubai. The airline did not want to take chances by sending it to a far off place fearing the elusive rodent may be still be on the plane.

"The aircraft is now (Tuesday night) in Mumbai where it is getting the final round of fumigation. From Wednesday VT-ANV will fly to its regular destinations," said the official.

The official said the AI would never take any chances with safety. "Rats are a threat to flight safety of these high-tech planes as they can chew wires and if the open wires come in contact with one another, there can be consequences. So whenever a rat is sighted, we land at the nearest airport," the newspaper said.

The airline believes the rat came from a catering truck. It has taken a series of decisions to prevent rodents from sneaking into planes after AI chairman Ashwani Lohani visited the Delhi airport.

So where did the rat go? The official said that two people of that team in Singapore saw the rat running out of the aircraft.