US-Bangla flight delayed as fox wanders onto runway at Chattogram airport

A fox suddenly entered the runway from the nearby jungle just as the plane was about to take off, a spokesperson says

A US-Bangla flight preparing to depart for Dhaka from Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram has been delayed after a fox unexpectedly wandered onto the runway.

Airport authorities said the incident caused the flight to take off 26 minutes later than scheduled on Wednesday morning.

Engineer Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, the airport’s public relations officer, told bdnews24.com: “Before any flight takes off or lands, the airport’s ‘Operation Zip’ team inspects the runway.

“At 11:40am, the US-Bangla flight to Dhaka was cleared for take-off after a routine inspection.

“Just when the aircraft was about to fly, a fox came onto the runway from the adjacent jungle. The pilot informed the control room immediately, and the animal was quickly driven away.”

Ibrahim added that dogs occasionally enter the runway, but incidents involving a fox are extremely rare. The flight eventually departed at 12:06pm for Dhaka.

He also confirmed that no other flights were delayed due to this incident.