A TAP Air Portugal flight was recently grounded after more than 130 hamsters escaped from their cages in the cargo hold. The incident occurred last week on a scheduled flight from Lisbon to the Azores.
The flight, operated by an Airbus A320, had departed from Lisbon on 13 November. The flight was bound for Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores.
Shipment of Animals Bound for Pet Shop
According to the Portuguese news source Correio da Manha, the flight was carrying a consignment of various animals bound for a local pet shop. The shipment included ferrets, several birds and 132 hamsters.
Following the flight’s landing in Ponta Delgada, baggage handlers proceeded to unload the aircraft. They spotted hamsters running loose when they went to unload the cargo hold. It was then discovered that all 132 hamsters had broken free from their transport boxes and were loose in the aircraft’s cargo hold.
The hamsters, which were being transported to a local pet shop, had managed to break free from their cages during the flight. According to Correio da Manha, airline sources said that the consignment of animals was declined for an earlier flight because the transportation boxes failed to meet compliance standards.
The shipment was subsequently accepted for transport on the following flight.
TAP Air Portugal Aircraft Grounding
The unexpected incident caused disruption to flight schedules. Given the difficulty of tracking all the loose hamsters down, the aircraft was subsequently grounded for five days. As a result, one scheduled TAP Air Portugal flight was cancelled.
Whilst mass breakouts of animals from cargo holds remains something of an unusual event, rodents discovered loose on flights does occur occasionally.
Recently, an SAS flight from Oslo to Málaga made a diversion to Copenhagen after a passenger found a live mouse in their meal.
In accordance with airline procedures, it is generally required that an aircraft is returned to an airport where ground inspections can be made in such instances.
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