Woman Allegedly Finds Cockroach in Airline Omelet She Was Sharing with Her Toddler

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock photos of a cockroach and an in-flight meal.Photo:Getty (2)

Getty (2)

An airline passenger is claiming that the meal she was served on a recent flight contained an unpleasant addition: a cockroach.Ina post on Xon Friday, Sept. 27, Suyesha Savant recounts the revolting experience she had while traveling on Air India with her young child.“Found a cockroach in the omelette served to me on the @airindia flight from Delhi to New York,” Savant wrote. “My 2 year old finished more than half of it with me when we found this.”The mother claims that she “suffered from food poisoning as a result.“Two images and a video accompanying the caption show the pest protruding from a chunk of eggs.Air India’s X accountreplied to the post the same day, writing, “Dear Ms. Savant, we’re very sorry to hear about your experience” and noted that the airline would investigate the incident “promptly.”PEOPLE has reached out to the company for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.An Air India plane.Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via GettyInSavant’s video,she points out that she can “see the whiskers” of the insect, and alleges that she’s experienced other unsanitary conditions in the cabin.“Even the pouches of this seat were not clean and it had waste bottles lying in it, and when I alerted the staff about it, they said it was a mistake,” she says.This isn’t the first instance of travelers reporting unhygienic circumstances surrounding in-flight dining in recent weeks.Earlier this month, a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) passenger opened her meal anda live mousescampered out, prompting the flight to make an emergency landing.One of the neighboring passengers on board, Jarle Borrestad, wrote about witnessing the furry intruder ina Facebook post.According tothe BBC, airline spokesperson Oystein Schmidt told the AFP news agency the rodent posed a “safety risk” to passengers, who were traveling from Oslo, Norway, to Malaga, Spain. The plane was diverted to Copenhagen.Getty(2)Schmidt said that finding a mouse on a flight is “something that happens extremely rarely.”Another spokesperson for Scandinavian Airlines told PEOPLE in a statement, “We made a very normal landing in Copenhagen in order to change aircraft and catering — which is a fully normal procedure when a rodent is found onboard.““In these cases, we have very clear procedures to follow, including full inspection of the aircraft and of all our suppliers’ processes to see what needs to be improved or changed in order to avoid scenarios like these,” the statement continued. “This inspection and investigation are now initiated.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.In July, a Delta flight was diverted to New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport aftertravelers were served contaminated foodwith visible mold and needed medical attention.One passenger said the whole experience “wasn’t good” while describing the incident toCBS News.“There was these two black spots that almost looked like burnt cheese,” they told the outlet. “I thought it was just something different, and I guess that turned out to be the black mold.”A Delta spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that meal service was adjusted on “a few dozen flights” in the days after the incident so the airline could “work with catering on reviewing quality assurance of meals.”

An airline passenger is claiming that the meal she was served on a recent flight contained an unpleasant addition: a cockroach.

Ina post on Xon Friday, Sept. 27, Suyesha Savant recounts the revolting experience she had while traveling on Air India with her young child.

“Found a cockroach in the omelette served to me on the @airindia flight from Delhi to New York,” Savant wrote. “My 2 year old finished more than half of it with me when we found this.”

The mother claims that she “suffered from food poisoning as a result.”

Two images and a video accompanying the caption show the pest protruding from a chunk of eggs.

Air India’s X accountreplied to the post the same day, writing, “Dear Ms. Savant, we’re very sorry to hear about your experience” and noted that the airline would investigate the incident “promptly.”

PEOPLE has reached out to the company for further comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

An Air India plane.Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty

Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty

InSavant’s video,she points out that she can “see the whiskers” of the insect, and alleges that she’s experienced other unsanitary conditions in the cabin.

“Even the pouches of this seat were not clean and it had waste bottles lying in it, and when I alerted the staff about it, they said it was a mistake,” she says.

This isn’t the first instance of travelers reporting unhygienic circumstances surrounding in-flight dining in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) passenger opened her meal anda live mousescampered out, prompting the flight to make an emergency landing.

One of the neighboring passengers on board, Jarle Borrestad, wrote about witnessing the furry intruder ina Facebook post.

According tothe BBC, airline spokesperson Oystein Schmidt told the AFP news agency the rodent posed a “safety risk” to passengers, who were traveling from Oslo, Norway, to Malaga, Spain. The plane was diverted to Copenhagen.

Getty(2)

Schmidt said that finding a mouse on a flight is “something that happens extremely rarely.”

Another spokesperson for Scandinavian Airlines told PEOPLE in a statement, “We made a very normal landing in Copenhagen in order to change aircraft and catering — which is a fully normal procedure when a rodent is found onboard.”

“In these cases, we have very clear procedures to follow, including full inspection of the aircraft and of all our suppliers’ processes to see what needs to be improved or changed in order to avoid scenarios like these,” the statement continued. “This inspection and investigation are now initiated.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In July, a Delta flight was diverted to New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport aftertravelers were served contaminated foodwith visible mold and needed medical attention.

One passenger said the whole experience “wasn’t good” while describing the incident toCBS News.

“There was these two black spots that almost looked like burnt cheese,” they told the outlet. “I thought it was just something different, and I guess that turned out to be the black mold.”

A Delta spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE at the time that meal service was adjusted on “a few dozen flights” in the days after the incident so the airline could “work with catering on reviewing quality assurance of meals.”

source: people.com