Dramatic moment bees swarm around plane door as staff forced to ground flight
Airport staff were forced to ground a flight after hundreds of bees swarmed onto a plane's open cargo hold door.
The IndiGo flight, which was due to depart from Surat Airport, India, was delayed by over an hour as airport staff scrambled to try and deal with the buzzing throng, which made its appearance while baggage handlers were loading bags into the Airbus A320.
It's not clear where the bees came from, nor why they chose to settle on the plane. Efforts were made to disperse the insects using smoke to no avail, leading to the airport's fire team having to be called in to deal with the situation, reports What's The Jam.
An official from Surat Airport told local media: "They used a jet of water from a fire tender to remove the bees from the open shutter."
Ultimately the flight was delayed by over an hour as staff dealt with the situation. No injuries or damage was reported as a result. An airline spokesperson told local media: "IndiGo Flight 6E-784 Surat-Jaipur was delayed due to a bee incident, which is something not under our control, so the flight departed post clearance. Standard protocols were followed."
It's not the first time that a swarm of bees has caused a flight to be delayed. For example in 2023 a LATAM plane was cancelled after a swam of bees settled on the aircraft's port wing near one of the engines. After hours of trying to move the insects, airport staff admitted defeat and cancelled the flight, with passengers moved onto other aircraft to their destinations.
Meanwhile last year passengers on a flight in Brazil were also left waiting to disembark as a swarm congregated on the plane wing after the plane had landed. It took over an hour for the bees to be moved, with firefighters being called in and using jets of water to encourage them to move.
Another impressive swarm of bees also caused two flights to be delayed in 2020, on a pair Vistara Airlines aircrafts which were parked in the same bay of Kolkata airport in India 16 hours apart, it was reported. Airport staff used water cannons to wash the swarms off, with fire teams also being called in to help.
It's not known exactly what causes bees to swarm an aircraft's wing or door. There are some theories that it's purely a coincidence that they just choose that spot to settle while they send scouts search for a new home for the hive, while others believe it could be that the Queen settles on the plane and therefore the rest of the swarm follows.
Bees may also swarm around structures that look like they could be potential nesting sites - a plane wing may simply fall into this, rather than there being a specific reason as to why they choose an aircraft.
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