Flight forced to abort take-off as dog enters runway

Flights had to wait in the skies for almost 15-20 minutes before the operations could be resumed

One domestic flight had to abort take-off while four others were made to hover in the skies for more than 15 minutes after a dog strayed into the runway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here today.

The flight which aborted take-off was of Jet Airways. Of the four other flights affected, two were of IndiGo and one each of GoAir and SpiceJet.

"Jet Airways flight which was ready to fly had to abort its take-off, while four other flights at Mumbai airport had to be suspended for a brief period today after a dog strayed into the runway. Due to this, four flights were asked to do a go-around," the sources said.

The flights had to wait in the skies for almost 15-20 minutes, they said, adding that operations were resumed after the authorities cleared the runway of the dog.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma had in December last year said that the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) had taken several steps to ensure safety of aircraft from birds and wildlife.

The DGCA had in November ordered surveillance of 20 airports in the country after they were found prone to wildlife intrusion and bird strikes.

The surveillance was ordered to check the problem of wildlife intrusion and bird strikes as part of the aviation regulator's safety programme.