Lizard on the runway hits Delhi Airport

by Sanjay Jha | June 19, 2008 at 04:11 am | 256 views | add comment

Monsoon rains have brought all kinds of woes in the India's capital New Delhi. New Delhi airport is always in news for all the wrong reasons and this latest news is even more scary.Newspapers have reported that more than 100 flights had been affected by the Lizard influx.

They say that the animals were looking to warm up after the first monsoon rains this year hit the capital.

Indira Gandhi International Airport spokesman Arun Arora said in a statement that monitor lizards up to nearly a metre long were among the creatures seeking sanctuary on the runway.

He did not confirm newspaper reports say that about 100 flights had been affected by the influx.

'Wrong signal'

In the monsoon season, from June to September, heavy rains routinely delay flights all over India.

Air traffic in the country is busier than ever, with an increasing number of new low-cost airlines launching operations.

The body that runs the country's airways, the Airport Authority of India, refused to speak BBC about the closure.

Correspondents say that officials believe any unforeseen closure of Delhi airport sent the wrong signals at a time when India was trying to project itself as a modern country.