In what sounds like the plot of an animation film, an usual crisis occurred aboard a flight in Europe this week, when a TAP Air Portugal flight turned into the great hamster escape. Forget snakes on a plane – this time, it was 132 tiny furballs causing chaos in the cargo hold after escaping their cage – in need of an adventure we suspect- and ultimately grounding the flight for days. Here’s what we know about the hamsters escape on the Portuguese flight:
Hamster havoc on flight
A Tap Air Portugal flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada in the Portuguese Azores faced the disruption on November 13. The incident saw 132 hamsters escape their transport cages in the cargo hold. This forced the Airbus A32neo to remain grounded for four days as ground crew scrambled to recapture the rodents – who were having the time of their lives might we add.
The hamsters on board the Portuguese flight were part of a shipment destined for a local pet store. This shipment included ferrets and birds – who unluckily, didn’t get to escape for an airplane adventure of their own. Upon landing, the baggage handlers discovered that the cages were damaged. Of course, this allowed the hamsters to enjoy their freedom as they ran riot throughout the aircraft’s cargo zone.
Although, the public around the world are having quite the giggle at this news. Rodents on planes can chew through wiring and hide in hard-to-reach spaces, so this is extremely dangerous, and it can damage critical airplane systems. As a result, the airline needed to locate every hamster before allowing the plane to return to service.
According to reports, all 132 hamsters were recaptured by November 17. Therefore, the aircraft was able to fly back to Lisbon without passengers for a maintenance inspection. It remains under inspection for future flights. Meanwhile, it is being reported that the shipment had been rejected on previous flights due to non-compliant packaging which has raised questions about cargo handling standards.
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