Passenger finds cockroach in food in Air India business class lounge

Airline says it is taking 'necessary corrective measures'

Air India announced on Monday that coach passengers on its domestic flights would now be offered only vegetarian meals (Amit Dave/Reuters)

Air India has apologised to a passenger who discovered a cockroach in her meal while eating at Air India's VIP lounge in Delhi.

Journalist Harinder Baweja was dining at Air India's Delhi lounge when she noticed a cockroach crawling across her plate. She quickly took to Twitter to express her displeasure.

Social media users were quick to criticise the airline, and Air India responded to Ms Baweja's post on Tuesday to apologise and reassure customers that steps were being taken to correct the hygiene lapse.

It followed up with another tweet shortly after, as Twitter users began to respond to the incident.

Social media users were quick to jump on the incident, though most took the opportunity to make fun of the discovery rather than criticise the airline.

Zee News reports that catering at the lounge is managed by Air India subsidiary Hotel Corporation of India, which manages the Centaur group of hotels.

Another Twitter user alleged that a similar incident had happened to him on an Air India flight going from Dubai to Delhi.

When The Independent called Air India to ask what steps had been taken over the incident, a representative stated that the airline does not have a press office, and declined to comment.

Air India is the national carrier of India based in Indira Gandhi International Airport, India's busiest airport. It employs over 20,000 people and has been in operation since 1946.

In March 2017, it hit the headlines in a more positive way with an all-female crew on an Air India Boeing 777 flying between Delhi and San Francisco, covering around 9,500 miles in the process.

In January of this year, it launched a tranche of women-only seats in economy in response to reports of sexual harassment. While many praised the move, others argued it would lead to gender discrimination.