Pest pressure: Rat spotting forces Air India to recall Milan flight four hours into journey

The cabin crew of Air India might soon need to include a pest controller in their ranks. After four hours of flying, an intercontinental Air India Flight headed for Milan had to return to New Delhi when a rat was spotted by the crew and some passengers in the cabin. [caption id=“attachment_2373138” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Rat spotted on an Air India flight[/caption] Talking to the Times of India , an AI spokesperson said, “The Delhi-Milan flight on Thursday returned to Delhi due to a suspected rat sighting. Though the presence of the rodent was not confirmed, keeping passenger safety in mind, the aircraft was brought back. AI gives utmost importance to safety. Our engineering team is investigating the incident. However, the aircraft will be fumigated as per procedure.” This is not the first incident of pest sighting on-board an Air India flight. Another AI flight was grounded in Leh in the month of May after stowaway rats were spotted on board. The Airbus A320 was taken out of service to be fumigated after it landed in Leh, a district in the Himalayas in northern India, reports the Daily Mail . Back in 2014, rats were spotted when the Airbus A-321, flying as AI 021, landed at IGI airport from Kolkata. As soon as all the passengers alighted, the aircraft was taken out of service. Instead of being prepared for the next flight, the plane was taken to a remote bay for fumigation, reports the TOI .