Bengaluru: Rabbit, foreign object or just hazy notions? Two days after an Air India Express flight IX 2004 aborted its initial landing attempt at Kempegowda International Airport, its operator has clarified that neither a foreign object nor an animal was spotted on the runway.The flight, which departed Goa at 6.48pm, reached Bengaluru around 8pm and was about to touch down at KIA. Sources aware of the situation Sunday told TOI that while descending, the pilot got instructions from Air Traffic Control for a go-around.While the exact reason is yet to be examined, the ATC communicated to the flight that there was a foreign object present on the runway. A few minutes later, he executed a safe landing, and everything was normal, the source added.On Monday, KIA’s operator Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) stated that the situation happened due to an alert by an IndiGo flight. A BIAL official told TOI that the IndiGo pilot, while landing around 8pm Saturday, thought he saw a rabbit on the runway. BIAL confirmed not even a small foreign object had appeared on the runway.“Our apron team checked and cleared for landing following which the next flight landed,” the official said, adding the pilot had made an in-flight announcement on the presence of an animal while executing a go-around, which fuelled the argument.
