India: Stray dog enters airport runway, pilot aborts landing

A Vistara flight returned to Bengaluru without landing at the Dabolim Airport in Goa after a stray dog was spotted on the runway by the Air Traffic Controller, a senior official said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday afternoon, he said.

The pilot was asked to "hold for some time" as a stray dog was spotted on the runway of the Dabolim Airport, but "he preferred to return to Bengaluru," Goa airport's director SVT Dhanamjaya Rao told PTI. The Dabolim Airport in Goa is part of the Navy's INS Hansa base.

The Vistara flight UK 881 left from the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at 12.55pm on Monday and returned at 3.05pm, sources said. They said the flight again took off from Bengaluru at 4.55 pm and reached Goa at 6.15 pm.

On Monday, Vistara, in a post on X, said, "Flight UK881 from Bengaluru to Goa (BLR-GOI) has been diverted to Bengaluru due to runway restriction at Goa (GOI) airport and is expected to arrive in Bengaluru at 1505 hrs."

After two hours, the carrier posted again: "Flight UK881, which was diverted to Bengaluru, has departed from Bengaluru at 1655 hours and is expected to arrive in Goa at 1815 hours."

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