While such incidents are relatively rare, animals that either enter or are deliberately smuggled onto a flight periodically cause significant chaos, prompting cancellations and diversions.
In 2023, a Volaris flight between two Mexican cities was delayed by several hours after a cloud of mosquitoes flew inside and started buzzing around the cabin. Last year, a woman flying the budget airline Vietjet from Bangkok to Taiwan snuck in two otters, a marmoset, 28 tortoises and some rats that got loose and started moving through the cabin.
The ruse came undone when a fellow passenger went into the lavatory and saw a rodent with “red eyes” scurrying near the toilet.
“I was confused so he said again ‘pet rat, pet rat, it has a white body and it’s not small,'” another passenger described of the chaos that then spread throughout the cabin.
“Passengers remained calm and the staff kept a close eye on the animal”: KLM
The latest rodent-related incident occurred aboard a KLM flight from Amsterdam to the Caribbean territory of Aruba and then on to Bonaire on December 11.
According to a spokesperson for the national Dutch airline, flight attendants aboard the Airbus A330 were alerted about the presence of a large rat on the rack for one of the curtains at some point during the 10-hour route to Aruba, and the pilot made the call to continue the flight.
Related: Someone snuck a cat onto my Air Canada flight (here’s what happened)
Flight attendants monitored the animal throughout the flight, and once it landed in Aruba, the plane was taken out of commission for a cleaning and inspection.
“The plane was flying over the ocean,” the spokesperson said to Dutch outlet RTL. “The pilot didn’t really have any other choice but the passengers remained calm and the staff kept a close eye on the animal. The animal also didn’t get anywhere near the food.”
A video of the rat scurrying across the curtain rack and across the cabin captured by one of the passengers did, however, end up going viral on various social media platforms.
Shutterstock
“We understand how unpleasant it is for everyone who is now stuck here”
With some of the 254 passengers aboard the flight scheduled to continue the fifth-freedom route to Bonaire (and others with purchased tickets to get aboard on during the first stop in Aruba), at least several dozen of the travelers were left temporarily stranded in the Dutch overseas territory.
Others scheduled to take the KLM flight back to Amsterdam a day later were also affected.
More Travel News:
- Major airline launches surprising flight between Las Vegas and Paris
- United Airlines CEO gives stark warning on Olympic Games
- The highest rooftop in Barcelona is in a surprising place
- US government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travel
The airline provided accommodation to any affected travelers and worked to put them on other flights throughout the weekend, starting on December 12. All have now been redirected to their final destinations, and the plane has been put back into service after a deep clean.
“We understand how unpleasant it is for everyone who is now stuck there and had expected to fly back to Amsterdam,” a KLM spokesperson said in a separate statement to Dutch outlet Telegraaf.
“We are doing everything we can to get these passengers to their destination as quickly as possible.”
Related: Airline cancels all flights and travelers stranded, no bankruptcy