Cockroaches found on San Francisco-Mumbai flight, Air India starts investigation

An Air India spokesperson termed the incident “unfortunate” and apologised to the affected passengers. “On San Francisco to Mumbai flight AI180 via Kolkata, two passengers were unfortunately inconvenienced by the presence of some small cockroaches on the aircraft. Our cabin crew, the statement read, therefore, moved the two passengers to alternate seats in the same cabin, where they were subsequently comfortable.”

“During the fuel stop scheduled for the flight in Kolkata, our ground staff immediately went for a deep cleaning process to eliminate the problem. The same plane then left on schedule for Mumbai,” the airline said.

Air India said that while it undertook routine fumigation of aircraft, insects might still enter during ground handling operations.

The airline has launched an investigation to determine how the cockroaches entered the cabin and how to prevent similar incidents.

The incident caused no disruption, and the flight landed at Mumbai on time, the airline said.

However, it has posed wider questions over in-flight hygiene and pest control practices, especially on long-distance flights involving prolonged ground time and refeuelling layovers.