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Air India denies reports of lizard in food tray
New Delhi, June 13
Civil Aviation Minister
Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Saturday denied reports of a lizard being found
in the food tray of a passenger on-board an Air India flight.
"We
are in touch with Air India's management. As per them, there has been
no complaint, no passenger or person has come forward to claim that this
picture was taken by him or her even now," Raju told IANS here.
"According
to Air India the matter seems to have been fabricated and is a hoax.
They are still investigating the matter, that who is behind it," Raju
said adding that the evidence till now suggests that there is no truth
in the story.
On its part, national passenger carrier Air India
has denied reports of a lizard being found in the food tray of a
passenger on board its New Delhi-London flight.
The airline has termed it a "hoax" to tarnish its image.
"This
incident never happened. As there is no record of it, no complaint that
was filed either in London, New Delhi or on-board the flight. No cabin
crew or even the other passengers on the flight were aware of such an
incident and no one has come forward to complain even now," a senior Air
India official in New Delhi told IANS.
"It is clearly a hoax.
This all started with a picture appearing on Twitter. We are
investigating the matter, as to who has placed the picture, and what is
the claim of that person," the official added.
The airline has
warned that if the incident actually turns out to be a hoax, which it is
certain of, then it may also resort to legal action.
"Our food
is catered by India's best hospitality chain, the Taj and Gate Gourmet.
The Tajsats and Gate Gourmet deliver one of the finest and award winning
in-flight food. This is all being done to tarnish our image," the
official added.
According to industry sources, the alleged
incident blew up when a picture was posted on Twitter, that showed what
seemed to be a small 'lizard' on the food tray of a passenger. The photo
has ever since gone viral.
Other sources claim that the
incident took place on AI-111, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that took-off on
Thursday from New Delhi's IGI airport for London.
During a
10-hour flight, the airline serves an unlimited number of snacks and two
main courses depending on the time of operations.
New Delhi, June 13
National passenger carrier
on Saturday denied reports of a lizard being found in the food tray of a
passenger on board its New Delhi-London flight. The airline has termed
it a "hoax" to tarnish its image.
"This incident never happened.
As there is no record of it, no complained that was filed either in
London, New Delhi or on-board the flight. No cabin crew or even the
other passengers on the flight are even aware of such an incident and no
one has come forward to complaint even now," a senior Air India
official in New Delhi told IANS.
"It is clearly a hoax. This all
started with a picture appearing on Twitter. We are investigating the
matter, as to who has placed the picture, and what is the claim of that
person," the official added.
The airline has warned that if the
incident actually turns out to be a hoax, which it is certain-off, then
it may also resort to legal action.
"Our food is catered by the
India's best hospitality chain the Taj. The Taj Stats delivers one of
the finest and award winning in-flight food. This is all being done to
tarnish our image," the official added.
According to the industry
sources, the incident came to light when a picture was posted on
Twitter, that showed what seemed to be a small 'lizard' on the food tray
of a passenger. The photo has ever since gone viral.
Other
sources claim that the incident took place on AI-111, a Boeing 787
Dreamliner that took-off on Thursday from New Delhi's IGI airport for
London.
During a 10-hour-long flight, the airline serves an
unlimited number of snacks and two main courses depending on the time of
operations.