Buzz off! Angry bees delay Air India flight

Bees swarm when a queen bee leaves an existing colony to find a new home together with thousands of worker bees


Afp September 16, 2019
A bee is covered with pollen as it sits on a blade of grass on a lawn. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW DELHI: An Air India flight was delayed by several hours after a swarm of bees landed on the cockpit window, attacking ground staff when they tried to remove them, officials said.


The insects landed on the window just before the plane was due to leave the eastern city of Kolkata on Sunday with 136 passengers, including Bangladesh's information minister.


PHOTO: REUTERS PHOTO: REUTERS

Ground staff tried to shoo the insects off, angering them, and when attempts to use the windscreen wipers failed officials switched to 'plan b' and blasted them off with water.


"Fire tenders were deployed to spray water to dislodge the honey bees and they could be driven away after nearly an hour-long operation," airport official Kaushik Bhattcharya told AFP.


The flight to Agartala in north-eastern India eventually took off more than three and a half hours late.

Bees swarm when a queen bee leaves an existing colony to find a new home together with thousands of worker bees.

Honey bees. PHOTO: REUTERS Honey bees. PHOTO: REUTERS

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ