Air India insect scare: Cockroaches found in San Francisco-bound AI 180 flight

Air India on Monday stated that two passengers onboard a San Francisco-bound flight from Mumbai were relocated after they complained about a “few small cockroaches on board”, the airline said in a statement.

The statement added that until the flight could be properly cleaned, the two passengers were relocated to other seats in the same cabin, after which no further complaints were raised. 

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The airline then proceeded to deep clean flight AI 180, on which the incident reportedly occurred, after it made a scheduled stop at Kolkata for refuelling. The same aircraft was said to have departed for Mumbai.

"Despite our regular fumigation efforts, insects can sometimes enter an aircraft during ground operations," Air India said.

Launching a comprehensive investigation into the source and cause of the insect incident, the airline declared that it would implement measures to prevent this in the future. The airline also apologised for "inconvenience caused to the passengers".

This follows Air India's cancellation of a Singapore-Chennai flight on Sunday, following a technical issue that required extended maintenance work.

The technical issues with the AI 349 flight, which was to be operated by an Airbus A321, were identified during a pre-departure check. 

"Arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to Chennai at the earliest. Hotel accommodation is being provided, and full refunds on cancellation, or complimentary rescheduling is also being offered to passengers based on their preference," Air India had said. 

India