Jet Airways CEO tweets in support of Vistara after viral pic of cockroach in airline meal

A Twitter user shared a picture of an insect allegedly found inside a Vistara meal (Image credit: @manikul008/Twitter)

Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor raised doubts about the authenticity of a picture showing a small insect in a meal served on a Vistara flight. Kapoor, an aviation veteran who previously served as chief strategy and commercial officer of Vistara, implied that the picture was an attempt to discredit the airline.

The picture in question was shared by Twitter user Nikul Solanki on Friday, October 14. It shows a small insect in the upma served on the flight. Solanki also shared a picture of his boarding pass, which shows that the insect was found in a meal served on a Vistara flight from Mumbai to Bangkok on August 31.

Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor noted that Solanki only shared the picture on Twitter more than a month after the alleged incident occurred. He also pointed out that the Twitter user had only a handful of followers and no other posts on his timeline. All of this, he surmised, led him to believe that the tweet was a “hit job”.

“Photo of a supposed cockroach in airline meal doing the rounds on Twitter. Posted by someone with just 3 followers, no other posts, and 2 months after the flight,” Kapoor tweeted. “Screams ‘fishy’. Media, please do some basic checks before taking such posts at face value. This is a hit-job.”

Photo of a supposed cockroach in airline meal doing the rounds on Twitter. Posted by someone with just 3 followers, no other posts, and 2 months after the flight. Screams "fishy". Media, please do some basic checks before taking such posts at face value. This is a hit-job.

— Sanjiv Kapoor (@TheSanjivKapoor) October 15, 2022

A dead cockroach can be seen in the upma. “Small cockroach in air Vistara meal,” he tweeted.

Hello Nikul, all our meals are prepared keeping the highest standards of quality in mind. Please send us your flight details over DM so we can look into the matter and address the issue at the earliest. Thank you. ~Badri https://t.co/IaDysdIxJS

— Vistara (@airvistara) October 14, 2022

“Hello Nikul, all our meals are prepared keeping the highest standards of quality in mind. Please send us your flight details over DM so we can look into the matter and address the issue at the earliest,” the airline responded.