There was much cause for concern after a Delta flight departing from George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston was delayed by nearly three hours. The flight to Atlanta was stopped due to a huge swarm of bees who decided to make themselves comfortable on the wings of the plane.
Passenger Anjali Enjeti tweeted about the incident in real time, explaining that she and other passengers were not allowed on the plane until the bees decided to move.
The agent at the gate has just announced that they are inviting someone to look at the bees. WHO? Don’t we need a bee expert to identify the queen and remove her before the rest of us follow?
— Anjali Enjeti (she/she) (@AnjaliEnjeti) May 3, 2023
Ejeti then began tweeting live as events unfolded, first reporting that the airline was contacting pest control, and then rerouting and contacting a beekeeper to come and safely remove the insects.
Oh wait – good news – they have a new keeper! They will come and collect the bees!
— Anjali Enjeti (she/she) (@AnjaliEnjeti) May 3, 2023
“Information from other passengers confirms that the plane drove through the gate and suddenly a mass of bees gathered on the wing,” she wrote.
Ejety then shared that the beekeeper was not actually authorized to take the bees off the plane, so the pilot had to change gear.
New plan: the captain says he’s going to taxi and hope the bees leave him! Although he is not optimistic. But if they leave, we’ll board.
— Anjali Enjeti (she/she) (@AnjaliEnjeti) May 3, 2023
When that didn’t work, the airport staff tried to spray the fender with a hose and direct the exhaust gases of another car onto the fender where the bees were, all to no avail.
Finally, Delta found a grand solution – launched the plane.
Omg you all. The entire flight crew exited the aircraft. Delta has decided to yield our gate to another flight. As soon as the engine of our plane turned on, the BEES ARE GONE!!! All Delta had to do was TURN ON THE PLANE pic.twitter.com/gILlJ8EMZg
— Anjali Enjeti (she/she) (@AnjaliEnjeti) May 3, 2023
“Delta Airlines, please give all these agents a pay raise and tomorrow is the day off. They are doing an amazing job,” reads a follow-up tweet confirming that the plane changed gates, landed and landed safely in Atlanta.
Delta Airlines confirmed Enjety’s story in a statement to CNN Travel.
“Believe it or not, Delta Flight 1682 from Houston Bush to Atlanta was delayed yesterday afternoon after a friendly group of bees apparently wanted to talk business with our aircraft’s winglets, no doubt to share an update on flight conditions in at the airport,” the airline joked.
This is not the first time in recent months that passengers have praised Delta Airlines employees for being accommodating in the chaos.
In January, a passenger experienced severe turbulence on a Delta flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The Delta stewardess sat on the ground holding her hand until her nerves calmed down.
“We are touched by the kindness shown by this flight attendant on a Delta Connection flight and we are proud that this humanity is shown by our people every day,” the company said. Entrepreneur while.
Delta Airlines was down just over 24.7% year on year as of Thursday afternoon.