Stray Dog Causes Near Miss at Kolkata Airport, Prompting Safety Concerns

Kolkata, November 12 (Daily Kiran) : A major incident was narrowly avoided at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Thursday when a stray dog appeared on the runway. This unexpected situation forced a flight from Chennai to reroute to Andal Airport in West Bardhaman district. The quick actions of the pilot and air traffic control (ATC) were crucial in preventing a potential disaster.

According to airport officials, an Indigo flight was preparing for takeoff from Kolkata to Ranchi when the pilot spotted the dog wandering on the runway. Recognizing the seriousness of the situation, the pilot promptly notified Kolkata ATC.

At the same time, another Indigo flight from Chennai was scheduled to land at Kolkata. Upon learning about the dog on the runway, ATC was alerted and took immediate action. To avoid any possible accident, the incoming flight was not permitted to land and was redirected to an alternative route.

Following ATC’s instructions, the aircraft safely departed for Andal Airport, located approximately 187 kilometers from Kolkata Airport. Fortunately, all passengers on both flights remained unharmed. However, the incident has raised significant questions regarding security measures at NSCBI Airport. Authorities are investigating how a stray dog managed to access such a secure and sensitive area without detection.

This incident follows a separate security scare at the same airport just a day prior, when an Air India flight was threatened with hijacking. Police arrested a passenger from Sodpur in North 24 Parganas for allegedly fabricating the story. Investigations revealed that he was reluctant to travel to an African country for work, as it meant leaving his cancer-stricken wife behind.

The individual had concocted the hijacking threat in a desperate attempt to avoid the trip, but he ultimately faced arrest instead.