Ahmedabad: Monkeys take over runway, force Spicejet to abort takeoff

Air traffic controllers sighted monkeys on the live runway and alerted the pilots

Ahmedabad, Nov 21: A Chennai-bound Spicejet flight on Sunday, with 189 passengers and crew onboard, had to abort the take off after a group of monkeys took over the runway here.

The Boeing B737-800 aircraft, operating as flight number SG-501, had started taxiing at around 6.40 am when alert air traffic controllers sighted monkeys on the live runway, sources said.

The plane stopped immediately and no one was injured. According to a report in TOI, a Spicejet spokesperson said: "Our Boeing 737-800 operating as SG 501 from Ahmedabad to Chennai was rolling for take off when the air traffic control (ATC) contacted the pilots and told them that there were monkeys on the runway .

The plane had just begun take off roll and was able to stop safely."

The presence of widlife has been a concern for the aviation industry for a long time. In the past, due to several such incidents, airlines have taken up the matter with Airports Authority of India and DGCA as well.

(With PTI inputs)

OneIndia News