A commercial flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgado experienced disruption after 132 hamsters escaped their cages upon landing. Running around the cargo hold, it took ground staff four days to retrieve all hamsters, which had sustained no injuries.
On November 13th, a routine flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada (Azores) encountered a bizarre incident. While passengers travelled in the aircraft cabin, down below in the cargo hold were hundreds of furry creatures. Destined for a local pet shop, alongside the hamsters there were also ferrets and birds, Portuguese journal CM reports. Upon landing in Ponta Delgada, the force of the touchdown had prompted the cages to become damaged and therefore open, allowing the 132 hamsters to escape. Flown by TAP Air Portugal, the Portuguese flag carrier was forced to ground its Airbus A321neo for four days while all of the missing hamsters were located. Finally, as of November 17th 2024, all hamsters were located by ground staff, the remaining 16 being found in good health. Rodents are particularly dangerous to aircraft for their ability to chew through wiring, hence why the aircraft was grounded and checked for so long. This comes shortly after TAP Air Portugal announced large profits in this quarter.
Animals On Board!
Previous incidents of animals running amok include a rat scampering about the overhead compartment of the cabin. This incident occurred in October on a popular flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles, with passengers showing visible astonishment and surprise. In the cargo hold, in 2023 a horse escaped its container, running the length of the cargo and prompting an emergency landing back at JFK airport, where it had originally departed from. Bound for Belgium, this Air Atlanta Icelandic flight was cut short immediately after takeoff, costing this airline for having to delay its flight.
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