Flights delayed, diverted at Pune airport due to ‘unusual bird activity’

Airport officials told The Indian Express the disturbance came after the ATC stopped flight operations on the runway after it detected bird activity. “An unusual bird activity was recorded over the runway which has led to the suspension of operations for a brief time. The operation will commence soon after we get a clearance from the Air Traffic Control,” said an officer.

Passengers of Indigo flight 6E2661 from Pune to Delhi complained that their flight which was scheduled to depart at 11.15 am did not depart until 12.30 pm. (Express Photo)

Air India’s Mumbai to Pune flight (AI841), which leaves at 10 am and is scheduled to land at 10.50 am, was sent back as it did not get a signal to land.

Rohit Motwani, one of the passengers, posted on social media that the flight hovered over Pune airport for about an hour. “Today, I was (travelling in ) @airindia #AI841 from BOM to PNQ and my flight was diverted back to BOM after lurking over Pune for almost an hour. According to our pilot, there was a heavy bird activity at the Pune Airport due to which landing was very difficult,” he said.

Bird activity is one of the common hazards for flight operations, especially when large flocks of migratory birds are involved, because an aircraft can be damaged if they are hit by a bird flock.