Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
Tropical Storm Erick in Eastern Pacific may rapidly strengthen Chevron right
Extreme heat expands across Central US; some temps to top 100 degrees Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

67°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

67°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
Flood Watch

News / Travel

Swarm of bees delays a Delta flight by three hours

Bee swarms on aircraft are rare but not unheard of. Water cannons were used in 2019 to displace a cluster of bees that delayed an Air India flight.

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

Published May 4, 2023 3:52 PM EDT | Updated May 4, 2023 3:52 PM EDT

Copied

A swarm of bees touched down on a parked Delta Air Lines aircraft on May 3, delaying a flight from Houston to Atlanta for about three hours. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

(CNN) -- A swarm of bees touched down on a parked Delta Air Lines aircraft Wednesday, delaying a flight from Houston to Atlanta for about three hours.

"Bee-lieve it or not, Delta flight 1682 from Houston-Bush to Atlanta took a delay yesterday afternoon after a friendly group of bees evidently wanted to talk shop with the winglet of our airplanes, no doubt to share the latest about flying conditions at the airport," the airline said in a playful statement after social media pictures created a buzz.

Delta Air Lines did not say exactly what measures were considered to resolve the situation, but ultimately, the bees were displaced by pushing the aircraft back from the gate using ground equipment with no passengers on board.

The welfare of the bees and ensuring that aircraft surfaces were not contaminated were factors in the delay.

Delta apologized to customers on the delayed flight.

Twitter user Anjali Enjeti live tweeted the incident from inside George Bush Intercontinental Airport, reporting on various measures that were evidently floated and rejected to get the bees to take off from their perch on the Airbus A320's winglet.

Enjeti mentions a beekeeper and pest control in her live updates, which were apparently gleaned from Delta announcements and word of mouth from other passengers. She also gave a blow-by-blow of jockeying for position by the airport windows in hopes of witnessing a beekeeping operation, complete with snacks for the show.

Alas, no beekeeper appeared, according to Enjeti's account, much to her disappointment.

Close up of the bees on the wing pic.twitter.com/XodD4Z2kgi

— Anjali Enjeti (she/her) (@AnjaliEnjeti) May 3, 2023

"Would have a big highlight of my life to see a bee keeper de-bee a plane wing. It's going to be hard to let go of this. The disappointment is real," she tweeted.

Enjeti did not immediately respond to CNN's attempt to contact her.

Bees at airports

Bee swarms on aircraft are rare but not unheard of. A swarm of bees delayed an Air India flight in 2019. Water cannons were used in that case to displace the bees on the aircraft scheduled for a flight from Kolkata to Agartala.

In 2016, an F-22 Raptor fighter jet was temporarily grounded by 20,000 bees. A beekeeper helped resolve that situation in Virginia.

At passenger airports, beekeepers are becoming increasingly common.

A 2022 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine details a number of airports in the United States and internationally that have established "pollinator-friendly practices and programs that restore habitat for bees and bring public awareness and appreciation to these fascinating insects."

According to the report, Hamburg Airport in Germany was the first airport to introduce an on-airport apiary in 1999. Chicago O'Hare was the first US airport to add a major apiary.

The Federal Aviation Administration is involved in the research related to airport bee programs.

The airport involved in Wednesday's bee-related delay hasn't joined in airport beekeeping efforts -- yet.

"The initiative is being explored for implementation at the Bush Airport campus but currently we do not have a beekeeping program at the airport," airport spokesperson Augusto Bernal told CNN via email.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Related:

Summer is here: Get the scoop on the forecast from AccuWeather experts
Coronation forecast: Will it rain on King Charles III’s parade?
Disappearing lakes, dead crops: Drought-stricken Spain is running dry
American mountaineer dies during climb to Mount Everest
Report a Typo

Weather News

video

Shark season returning to the Jersey Shore

Jun. 13, 2025
Weather Forecasts

More stormy downpours for northeast US, but heatwave is on horizon

Jun. 17, 2025
Recreation

Skier airlifted after 1,000-foot fall down Colorado mountain

Jun. 16, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather News

Deadly West Virginia flooding won't be the last of this week

2 hours ago

Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to continue in central and eastern US

1 hour ago

Recreation

Tourist falls trying to view Kilauea eruption

19 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

More stormy downpours for northeast US, but heatwave is on horizon

1 hour ago

Astronomy

Will the Aurora Borealis be visible this week?

18 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Recreation

Northern US states try to woo travelers with ‘Canadians-only’ deals

17 hours ago

Astronomy

Summer solstice: Everything to know about the year's longest day

1 week ago

Weather News

5 times the American flag survived extreme weather

18 hours ago

Weather News

Reopening a 688-year-old murder case

22 hours ago

Weather News

6,000-year-old skeletons found in Colombia have unique DNA

21 hours ago

AccuWeather Travel Swarm of bees delays a Delta flight by three hours
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...