Fact Check: Did A Swarm Of Ants Delay An Air India Flight?

Is it possible for ants to delay an international flight?

It so happened on Monday that a London-bound Air India flight A-111 was delayed by more than three hours. And the reason was, indeed, a swarm of ants.

Just before departure from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) at 2 pm, a swarm of ants was noticed in the Business class of the aircraft. It was brought to the notice of the cabin crew, who quickly alerted the pilot and ground staff.

Take-off was aborted and Air India changed the aircraft, substituting it with another Boeing 787-8, ANI tweeted.

AI-111 finally took off at 5.20 pm, airline officials informed.

Among the passengers on board the Air India flight was Prince of Bhutan Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, son and heir apparent of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

This isn’t the first time that invasion caused inconvenience in Air India’s flight operations.

It may be recalled that in May, an Air India flight (AI-105, Delhi to New York) had to turn back to Delhi after a bat was spotted inside the aircraft’s business class area. The bat was discovered 30 minutes after the plane’s departure from IGI Airport.

Wildlife staff were called to catch the bat, as passengers were moved to another Air India plane.