Photo: SERGEY ALESHIN (Getty Images)
Wait, you don’t like flying while blood sucking insects hanging around you?
According to Times of India, a Bengaluru-based cardiologist named Saurabh Rai was recently kicked off an IndiGo Flight at Lucknow airport after he complained about numerous mosquitoes on the flight. And this became so escalated that Rai found himself watching the plane take off without him.
The Indigo flight from Lucknow to Bengaluru was full of mosquitoes, when I raised objection, I was manhandled by the crew and offloaded from the aircraft, I was even threatened: Dr.Saurabh Rai,Passenger pic.twitter.com/00XKxuIAUP
— ANI (@ANI) April 10, 2018
But it was more than just complaints according to IndiGo flight. Apparently Rai used “threatening language,” as well as the word “hijack,” which goes against the safety protocols. Maybe he said mosquitoes were hijacking the plane? Hey, that would make sense.
In the video below, taking on the flight, you can clearly see people swatting at the mosquitoes
#Watch: #JetAirways passengers swatting mosquitoes on plane at #Lucknow airport (Video credit: ANI) pic.twitter.com/pMnpI697Ou
— The Tribune (@thetribunechd) April 10, 2018
Times of India
Dr Rai boarded the aircraft at around 6am on Monday. According to reports, soon after entering the aircraft, Rai complained of mosquitoes and asked the crew to address the issue. But the crew asked him to sit down quietly. The agitated cardiologist eventually got into an altercation with the crew. Things turned ugly when airline staff asked Rai to leave the aircraft and walk back to the terminal from the runway.
In a video posted on social media, Rai alleged he was manhandled by airline staff. “They (the crew members) called me a terrorist and said that I was a threat to other passengers,” he says in the video. IndiGo issued a statement saying, “Mr Saurabh Rai, who was scheduled to fly this morning on 6E-541 from Lucknow to Bangalore, was offloaded on grounds of unruly behavior. Prior to take-off, Mr Rai expressed concerns regarding mosquitoes on board.
Bengaluru doctor complained about mosquitoes, removed from IndiGo flight
Read here: https://t.co/AoaXujnwdX pic.twitter.com/QLEzEnoKNn
— NDTV (@ndtv) April 10, 2018
IndiGo has admitted there were mosquitoes but they are not able to fumigate until passengers are not on board. Perhaps they should have thought of that before a scene from The Mist kicked off on their plane.
Remember this? A Giant Rabbit Died On A United Airlines Flight
Well, no one wants to fly with mosquitoes on board. But then again, it could be worse. You could find yourself on a United Airlines flight. And yes, like I’ve said before, I will never get tired of poking fun at United.