A SpiceJet flight was stranded on the main runway of Calcutta airport on Tuesday morning after the pilot claimed to have spotted a man on the runway. An inspection, however, revealed the man, a bird-chaser, was standing beside the runway.

The departure of the Mumbai-bound Spicejet flight was delayed by 10 minutes, forcing the authorities to ask four flights about to land to hover for around 15 minutes.

The SpiceJet flight, with 92 passengers on board, was preparing for take off around 8.30am when the pilot told the air traffic control (ATC) that a man was standing on the other end of the runway.

“A team rushed to the spot but found the man, a bird-chaser, beside the runway,” said an airport official. “The ATC got in touch with the pilot but he refused to take off till the man was removed from the spot.” The bird-chaser was finally asked to leave, after which the flight took off. During day, a small team moves around the runway, chasing birds by bursting crackers.