Cows are sacred in Hinduism, so the sight of these large animals promenading as they please in India, regardless of who they inconvenience, is commonplace. Now, it seems, they're disrupting larger vehicles than simply cars.
Airports Authority of India chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra has confirmed that on Thursday morning two international flights could not land at Ahmedabad because of a "cow situation" at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and had to divert to Mumbai.
"A cow had entered through cargo side. But was controlled soon," the chairman explained, as reported by the Times of India.
He said that the incident occurred at 3 a.m. when a gate was opened for two vehicles. The cow followed them in, Mohapatra explained, adding that personnel manning the gate should have been more vigilant.
It reportedly took more than an hour to get the cow out of the way.
"A big drama followed after the cow was spotted inside the airport. When we tried to catch the cow it started running here and there, which created panic since there was a lot of flight movement at international terminal," a source at the airport said, according to the Indian Express.
An inquiry has been ordered into the incident, according to airport director Manoj Gangal.
The menace of animal incursions at Indian airports is on the rise. In 2017, there were more than 1,000 incidents of birds and other animals colliding with planes at or near various airports in the country, according to official data.
