Air India passenger reports of lizard in his in-flight meal, airline left red-faced

New Delhi: Air India said Saturday it was investigating how a lizard ended up in one of its in-flight meals, in the latest embarrassment to hit the struggling airline.

A picture circulating on social media showed the reptile's head poking out from underneath a bun on a meal tray wrapped in cling film.

The incident happened on a flight from Delhi to London on Thursday, an airline official said. It was not immediately clear if the animal was dead or alive.

Read: Air India denies serving lizard in-flight meal

"We are investigating how it got in the meal. We are enquiring the caterer and our in-house departments," Praveen Bhatnagar, an Air India spokesman, told AFP.

The state-run carrier, which has not reported an annual profit since 2007, has been hit by a string of technical glitches and other embarrassing incidents, including staff turning up late for flights.

In April, the airline made headlines when it had to ground two of its pilots after a fight erupted between the pair just before takeoff.