130 hamsters take control of plane, hold it hostage for five days
More than a hundrend hamsters took control of a plane in Portugal (RBC-Ukraine collage)
A flight from Ponta Delgada-João Paulo II Airport to Lisbon was delayed for several days due to over a hundred hamsters. The animals took over the plane, leading to the cancellation of all flights, according to The bulkhead seat.
Cargo handlers discovered that the cages containing the animals had been damaged, and 132 of them were roaming the cargo hold when the Airbus 320 landed in Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores archipelago on the island of São Miguel, Portugal.
The Airbus A321neo had arrived in the Azores with a shipment of ferrets, hamsters, and birds destined for a local pet store. After passengers disembarked and retrieved their luggage, a search for the animals began.
The mass escape prevented the plane from returning to Lisbon, its point of origin, and the hunt for the remaining rodents continued for several days.
These animals were allowed on board after a previous carrier had refused to transport them due to non-compliant cages.
The flight could not proceed because the rodents' teeth are harder than lead, aluminum, and copper. They constantly need something to gnaw on in order to keep their teeth sharp. The "most appetizing" target on the plane was the wiring. Therefore, flying with furry passengers was deemed extremely dangerous.
Workers spent nearly five days capturing the hamsters using special gloves until they managed to return all the escapees to their cages. Passengers who were unable to board the flight were quickly reassigned to other flights.
130 hamsters took control of a plane in Portugal and held it hostage for 5 days (photo: CM Journal)
