As incredible as holidays are, it’s easy to lose sight of that when you’re stuck on a cramped plane that’s been delayed just before take-off and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
What with the non-existent legroom, a handful of drunk stag/hen-dos singing Robbie Williams’ Let Me Entertain You way out of tune, and a screaming baby attempting to harmonise with them, your ‘OMG I’m going on holiday’ mood can turn sour pretty quickly.
Add a pigeon into the mix and I’m certain that already cramped plane is going to feel a lot more claustrophobic, as passengers on a GoAir flight in northern India found out last week.
A rogue stowaway pigeon somehow made its way onto the commercial flight, which was headed from Ahmedabad International Airport to Jaipur, causing panic among the airline staff and passengers alike.
Hilarious video footage of the incident, captured by confused GoAir passengers, shows the pigeon flying through the cabin and causing havoc as people attempt to avoid its path.
The flight, which was due to depart at 5pm on Friday, February 28, was reportedly delayed when the bird burst out of an overhead locker, with the airline staff only able to watch helplessly as the pigeon hurtled along mere inches from everyone’s heads.
A passenger described what happened:
Every one of us boarded the plane. When the flight gates were shut, and a passenger opened the luggage shelf, suddenly we were shocked to witness a pigeon fly out of there.
Another passenger said the pigeon caused a ‘commotion’ inside the aircraft, with the flight subsequently having to be forced to redock at the airport. One passenger said: ‘The ground staff was informed and after incessant attempts, the pigeon was ejected from the aircraft.’
While the incident proved entertaining at first, prompting many passengers to take out their phones and film the bird, their patience was soon tested as the delay lengthened.
Several passengers complained about how the crew members responded to the incident, saying they were unimpressed that the flight landed in Jaipur half and hour later than expected.
However, GoAir has since disputed this on its official Twitter account, saying its crew ‘immediately got the birds removed from the aircraft’ and ‘the flight took off as per its scheduled time of 17:00 hours’.
The airline also issued an apology in response to a passenger sharing the video on social media, writing: ‘We understand this was not the travel experience you were hoping for and we’re sorry.’
The incident also caught the eye of Pigeons & Planes, a US publication who just couldn’t help themselves by tweeting:
Well, we’ve all heard of Snakes on a Plane, but I reckon this is the first time a pigeon has caused almost as much havoc. At least it didn’t end on such a dramatic note, right?
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).