Stock image of a plane
(Picture: PA Wire)Bees and wasps nesting in planes stopped flights from taking off at Heathrow Airport, an Air Accidents Investigation Branch found.
The insects snuck into the planes to make their nests while flights were running at a reduced capacity during the Covid pandemic because of the travel restrictions in the UK and around the globe.
An investigation was launched after there were three incidents with planes at the airport last June, The Mirror reported.
Samples from eight planes which were affected were sent off to the Natural History Museum for further analysis.
Among those affected, it was reported a number of planes had to abandon take off because of error messages caused by blockages.
Wall mason wasps were discovered nesting inside a BA Airbus 31, according to the AAIB report.
Also a Virgin Airbus A330 become infested with hairy-toothed small leafcutter bees, it added.
Insects blockages on planes are “not a new hazard, but one likely exacerbated due to the unusually low operational tempo in the pandemic”, the AAIB report said.
British Airways said the safety of customers and crew were not at risk at any point.
BA said in a statement: “Safety is always our highest priority and, like other operators, we put additional measures in place as detailed in the AAIB report.
“In each case the flights returned safely to stand. Our highly skilled pilots are trained to safely perform this type of standard procedure and practice them regularly.”
The Standard has approached Virgin Atlantic for further comment.
