Air India flies endangered vulture from Chennai to Jodhpur – Times of India

MUMBAI: Air India had an unusual flyer onboard one of its flights on Friday as it flew a cinereous vulture, an endangered species of raptors, from Chennai to Jodhpur via Delhi on Friday.
A pet-compatible aircraft enabling ventilator support was deployed on the Chennai-Delhi-Jodhpur route following instructions from the conservator of forests, Tirunelveli circle and department of forests, Kanyakumari Division, Chennai, said the airline in a press statement.
After obtaining necessary approvals from the ministry of civil aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) the bird was transported by flight to Rajasthan. “The vulture has reached Jodhpur safely and the forest department has appreciated efforts made by Air India to facilitate the process, right from arrival to departure,” said the airline. “Air India cargo and other departments worked in tandem with the forest department officials to conform to all the protocols as required for the smooth carriage of the bird,” it added.
Air India has a long history of flying animals and birds and among its priced anecdotes is that of a baby elephant it flew from Bengaluru (then Bangalore) to Spain in 1967. Spanish surrealist Salvator Dali had designed an ashtray for Air India and had sought an elephant calf as a remuneration.
More recently, in 2020, when domestic air travel restarted after suspension of services from March-end to May 25 because of the pandemic-induced lockdown, Air India received a spike in demand for pet transportation. In the four months up to October 2020, Air India flew over 2,000 pets on its domestic flights, an airline spokesperson had said.

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