A flight from Oslo to Malaga, in the south of Spain, had to make an emergency diversion and landing yesterday (Thursday) after a mouse unexpectedly jumped out of a passenger’s meal tray, causing surprise among those on board.
The incident took place aboard a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight which had just departed from Oslo and was en route to the popular holiday destination in the Costa del Sol when a passenger opened their meal tray, only for a small rodent to leap onto the cabin floor.
While the cabin crew reported no major panic, the captain soon informed them that the plane would need to divert due to the potential safety hazard posed by the mouse.
The aircraft, which had around 180 passengers onboard, went into two holding patterns before making an unscheduled landing in Copenhagen (Denmark), and passengers were asked to disembark while engineers conducted a thorough search for the furry stowaway.
SAS quickly found a replacement aircraft, and the flight resumed its journey, departing Copenhagen at 5:20pm and arriving in Malaga by 8:00pm. A spokesperson for SAS confirmed that the diversion was standard procedure in such situations to ensure safety.
While rodents on flights are very rare, they do pose significant risks, such as damaging electrical wiring on the plane. Insects, particularly cockroaches, are more commonly found on planes, with a notable incident in July when a video of a cockroach on a United Airlines flight went viral.
