Hyderabad: A video of a stray dog wandering freely inside a passenger lounge at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad has set off a wave of anger on social media, with travellers and netizens questioning how an animal managed to breach the secured interiors of one of India’s largest airports.
The footage, which began circulating on X on Tuesday, May 26, shows the dog perched on a table and helping itself to food left behind by passengers. The clip drew hundreds of comments, with many pointing to what they described as a failure of basic hygiene and security protocols at the facility.
Airport operator GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited acknowledged the incident and said it has been working with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to address the stray dog problem on the premises. In a statement, the operator said GHMC teams have been conducting regular removal drives at the airport and that 21 stray dogs have been dealt with since January this year. It added that waste management protocols have been tightened across all service providers operating within the terminal.
The response, however, did little to settle public frustration. Several users online noted that an animal reaching the inside of a passenger lounge, past multiple layers of entry and screening, raises questions that go beyond routine pest control.
The airport, which handled over 2.9 crore passengers in the last financial year, has not clarified how the dog entered the area.
Hyderabad has been grappling with a wider stray dog crisis, with an estimated 4.70 lakh strays across the core urban region and civic authorities struggling to keep pace with the problem.
This post was last modified on May 26, 2026 4:11 pm