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28 March 2024

Honeybee swarm delays flight

We had to close the terminal doors and told airlines not to open doors of flights that had just arrived to prevent the bees from harming passengers. (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Agencies

A flight in southern India was delayed for hours after a swarm of thousands of honeybees settled on the wing of an aircraft as passengers disembarked, the Times of India reported.

"We had to close the terminal doors and told airlines not to open doors of flights that had just arrived to prevent the bees from harming passengers," an official told the paper.

"Shuttle buses were not used and non-aerobridge boarding was suspended for some time from 10:30am [local time] onwards, when the water jets were being used to chase the bees away."

Fire rescue crews arrived at the airport in Chennai in southern India and sprayed a powerful stream of water at the bees, which landed on the right wing of a Kingfisher aircraft that arrived from Port Blair, India.

"As soon as the water hit them they began flying away. But we waited for a while to ensure they do not come back," the official said.