BENGALURU: A woman flyer traveling from Delhi to Bengaluru is still traumatised after a disturbing gastronomic experience at an outlet in Terminal 1 of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) a couple of days ago. Ananya Dhalla found a centipede-sized dead insect inside the chicken wrap she had ordered at Subway. The eatery has been closed for flyers on Friday after the incident came to light.
Dhalla, an Assistant Vice President at a finance firm, is back in Delhi now. Sharing details of the incident, she told TNIE, “I had reached Bengaluru on Wednesday (November 29) morning by the SpiceJet flight SG 0536. I had to attend a very important conference in the city. I had booked a taxi to Halasuru, where the venue of my meeting was located. As I was leaving T1, I ordered a Smoked Chicken Strips Signature wrap to eat during my ride. It cost me Rs 429 plus GST.”
She had consumed most of the sandwich when she suddenly spotted a big, brown centipede-like creature in the bite she was about to eat. “I was shocked, and this left me completely upset. I was also worried if I had already consumed any other insect, as it was a wrap and could not be seen openly. I felt uneasy throughout the day and could not eat anything. I was worried I would suffer from food poisoning.”
After repeatedly trying to contact Subway’s customer care to report the issue, Dhalla was finally connected with an individual who identified himself as the manager of the airport outlet. He told her, “The sandwich was fine when you bought it. The insect must have flown and landed on it when you were eating!” Later, he agreed to reimburse the full cost of the sandwich. “My issue was not the item’s cost but the major health hazard it could cause me or others,” she said.
Dhalla added that she now fears eating outside food. “It has been two days since the incident, and I still feel sick just thinking about it.”
Manjunath, Area Manager at Subway, who oversees multiple outlets in the city, visited the airport branch on Friday to assess the situation. “Following the incident, we have closed the airport outlet today. We want to first find out internally what went wrong. I will get back to you later after I assess the situation.”
A source from the airport operator, Bangalore International Airport Limited, told TNIE, “We are investigating the matter.”