An IndiGo Airlines flight from New Delhi was briefly halted at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Bangladesh after the crew spotted a fox near the taxiway area. The Air Traffic Control communication and visuals of the moving animal later went viral on social media, though the incident reportedly took place on 13 May.
The pilot of IndiGo flight 6E1103 informed Dhaka Ground ATC that the aircraft could not proceed because of the animals moving nearby. The aircraft was taxiing toward the terminal when the pilot noticed an animal and stopped Airbus A320, registered as VT-IQZ.
“Sir, there is a jackal on the right of the aircraft, about 30 feet into the grass, and it is standing there only, so we are holding position. Clear it off and we will taxi,” the pilot can be heard saying in the viral video first uploaded by Royal Bengal Aviation on YouTube.
The ATC unit asked the pilot to hold position while they sent someone to check. Just then, the pilot informed them that another “jackal” had “also crossed us left to right and both (animals) are now ahead of the aircraft.” The ATC responded by saying they had dispatched “two persons with vehicle” for assistance.
The video shows a black vehicle with two people inside arriving at the scene. As the vehicle scans the area, the ATC informs the pilot that the personnel do not see any animal. A while later, one person gets down the vehicle and picks up a polythene bag.
“The personnel said that they found a polythene on your right, otherwise nothing found,” the ATC official informs the pilot as the black vehicle drives away.
Safety concerns
The audio conversation between the pilot and the ATC has attracted considerable attention across social media platforms, with many users finding the exchange humorous.
“That ATC conversation sounded less like aviation communication and more like a multiplayer lobby under pressure,” one user commented on X.
“So jackals run behind airplanes like dogs behind the cars?” another user named Felix wrote.
Many users debated debating whether the moving animals were jackals, foxes, or wolves. While some mocked the Bangladesh ATC for failing to identify the animal correctly, others shared their own theories about the fox family.
“Pilot: ‘Jackals on runway!’ Ground crew: ‘Sir, those are just our daily polythene bag migrations..Dhaka airport wildlife safaris hitting different,” a user said on X.
“Those are fox …jackals are a different thing and people are not used to the word jackal here in our country. Clearly a communication error is present within both of them,” wrote another user.
Many users also flagged safety concerns, saying Dhaka airport urgently needs to restrict the entry of birds and animals.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)