Bengaluru airport: bird strike, runway go-arounds hit Air India Express flights
File photo: iMahesh (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
An Air India Express flight landed safely at Bengaluru after a bird strike reported on 20 October 2026, after two runway go-arounds there on 17 October.
What Happened
An Air India Express flight from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru, IX2065, was hit by a bird while landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), reports published on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 said; it landed safely and none of the 148 people on board was hurt. The incident followed two go-arounds at the same airport on the evening of Saturday, 17 October, when Air India Express flights were told to abort their landings after an object on the runway was spotted. One report said a rabbit had run across the runway, and the airport operator described the manoeuvres as precautionary, with no major delays.
Key Facts
- Bird strike: Air India Express flight IX2065 from Visakhapatnam was hit by a bird and landed safely at KIA with 148 people on board, according to reports on 20 October. No injuries were reported, and engineers inspected the aircraft for damage.
- 17 October: an Air India Express flight from Goa, due to land at about 8.10 pm, was instructed by air traffic control (ATC) to go around after a foreign object was seen on the runway, and landed safely minutes later, according to reports.
- A separate report said a rabbit darted across the runway on 17 October, causing two Air India Express flights to go around. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), which runs the airport, said the manoeuvres were precautionary and did not cause major delays.
- It is not clear from the reports whether the "foreign object" and the rabbit refer to the same event.
- A go-around is a standard safety manoeuvre in which pilots abandon a landing, climb away and circle back for another attempt.
Why It Matters
Kempegowda International Airport is the main air gateway to Bengaluru. Three wildlife- or debris-related incidents involving one airline in four days are a reminder that runways near open land face constant risks from birds and small animals, and that airport teams have to detect and clear them quickly.
Both kinds of event are routine in aviation, and the outcomes here show the safety system working. In a go-around, controllers or pilots decide that a landing is not safe and the aircraft simply climbs away and tries again. A bird strike, when a bird hits an aircraft, often causes little or no damage, but every strike is inspected because a bird drawn into an engine can cause serious problems. In each case reported this week, the aircraft landed safely and no one was injured.
For travellers, the practical effect is usually a delay of a few minutes, or, after a bird strike, a longer wait if the aircraft must be checked before its next flight. For airport operators, such incidents raise the question of wildlife control: keeping grass short, managing waste that attracts birds, and patrolling runways for animals. As Bengaluru's airport grows and the land around it develops, those tasks become more important.
| Date | Incident | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 17 October | Go-around after object spotted on runway (Goa flight) | Safe landing minutes later |
| 17 October | Rabbit on runway; two go-arounds reported | BIAL: precautionary, no major delays |
| Reported 20 October | Bird strike on IX2065 from Visakhapatnam | Safe landing, 148 unharmed |
Impact
Short-term: Passengers on the affected flights faced short delays; the aircraft hit by the bird needed an engineering check before returning to service.
Long-term: Repeated incidents may lead the airport operator and aviation regulators to review wildlife-hazard management around KIA, including runway inspections and measures to keep birds and animals away from the airfield.
Who is affected: Passengers flying into and out of Bengaluru, Air India Express and other airlines using KIA, air traffic controllers, and the airport operator BIAL.
Key Takeaway
A bird strike reported on 20 October and runway go-arounds on 17 October at Bengaluru's Kempegowda airport all ended with safe landings, but they put wildlife control at a busy airport in focus.
Questions and Answers
What happened to the Air India Express flight from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru?
Flight IX2065 was hit by a bird while landing at Kempegowda International Airport, according to reports on 20 October 2026. It landed safely, and none of the 148 people on board was injured.
Why did flights abort landing at Bengaluru airport on 17 October?
Reports say air traffic control told an Air India Express flight from Goa to go around after an object was spotted on the runway; another report said a rabbit crossed the runway, causing two go-arounds. The airport operator said the manoeuvres were precautionary.
What is a go-around?
It is a standard safety manoeuvre in which a plane abandons its landing, climbs away and circles back for another approach once the runway is clear.
Is a bird strike dangerous?
Many bird strikes cause little or no damage, but every aircraft that suffers one is inspected, because a bird hitting an engine or windscreen can cause serious damage. In this case, the flight landed safely.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
Sourced and fact-checked by the Peepals Global Editorial Team
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Reported, fact-checked and published by the Peepals Global Editorial Team.
