A stray dog entered the runway at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Thursday, Nov 12, forcing an IndiGo flight from Chennai to divert to Andal airport, 187 km away. The incident occurred when the pilot of a departing IndiGo flight bound for Ranchi spotted the dog and immediately informed Air Traffic Control (ATC).

ATC explicitly denied landing clearance to the Chennai-bound flight and instructed it to divert immediately. The diverted flight landed safely at Andal airport. Airport officials confirmed that the quick actions of the pilot and ATC prevented a potential disaster.

An investigation has been launched to determine how the stray dog entered the restricted runway area. This incident follows another security scare at the same airport earlier in the week, when a passenger was arrested for falsely reporting a hijack on an Air India flight.