Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru was cleared for landing after an Air India Express flight was instructed to go around when air traffic control reported a possible foreign object on the runway, the airport operator Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) said. A subsequent inspection found neither a rabbit nor any other object on the runway.
The incident involved Air India Express flight IX 2004, which departed Goa at 6.48pm and reached Bengaluru at around 8pm on Saturday. The aircraft was preparing to land at the airport when its pilot received instructions from Air Traffic Control to abort the approach and execute a go-around.
According to sources cited by the Times of India, ATC communicated that a foreign object was present on the runway. The pilot subsequently carried out a safe landing a few minutes later after the runway was checked and cleared.
BIAL said the alert originated with an IndiGo flight. A BIAL official told the newspaper that the IndiGo pilot, while landing at around 8pm, believed a rabbit was on the runway. The pilot made an in-flight announcement about the presence of an animal while carrying out the go-around, contributing to reports that a rabbit had entered the airport’s operational area.
The airport operator said its apron team inspected the runway and found no animal or foreign object. The team then cleared the surface for further operations, after which the next flight landed safely, according to the BIAL official.
A go-around is a standard aviation procedure in which a flight abandons its landing approach and climbs for another approach or further instructions. It can be ordered when pilots or air traffic controllers identify a possible obstruction, uncertain runway conditions or another operational concern. The procedure is intended to keep the aircraft separated from hazards while the situation is assessed.
In this case, BIAL said the runway inspection did not find evidence of an animal or debris. The operator’s clarification also narrowed the incident from an apparent runway intrusion to a visual alert reported by an arriving pilot. The exact circumstances behind the initial sighting were not detailed in the information available in the report.
The Air India Express flight landed safely after the runway was checked. BIAL’s statement said airport operations continued after the inspection, with the next aircraft cleared to land.
