Panaji, September 1: An Air Asia flight had to abort take-off after a dog strayed into the runway at Goa airport on Sunday. The flight was delayed for nearly an hour due to the incident. The Air Asia flight I5-778 was ready for take-off at around 8:25 am when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) spotted a dog entering the runway. Officials at the ATC immediately alerted the pilot who aborted take-off. DGCA Issues 'Air Safety Circular' For Airlines For Monsoon Operations.

The flight later departed at 9:15 am after multiple security clearances, news agency ANI reported. "AirAsia India reports that as a stray dog was spotted on the runway, Goa ATC (Air Traffic Control) cancelled the take-off clearance of I5-778 scheduled to operate between Goa to New Delhi," the airline said in a statement. The incident has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it added.

In August, an Air India flight flying from Mumbai to Goa was forced to abort landing at the last minute as stray dogs were seen trespassing into the runway. In January last year, one domestic flight had to abort take-off while four others were made to hover in the skies for more than 15 minutes after a dog strayed into the runway at Mumbai airport.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma had said that the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) had taken several steps to ensure safety of aircraft from birds and wildlife. The DGCA had in November ordered surveillance of 20 airports in the country after they were found prone to wildlife intrusion and bird strikes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2019 02:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).