This story has been updated to include new information.
Imagine what would happen if you found a four-legged rat on board an airplane as an uninvited guest. That’s exactly what happened on a Scandinavian Airlines flight: the flight had to be diverted after a rat booked a trip from Oslo, Norway to Malaga, Spain.
On Wednesday, a Spain-bound flight had to land in Copenhagen, Denmark, after a hairy traveller was spotted.
“In Copenhagen we made a routine landing (not an emergency landing as some media have mistakenly reported) to re-configure our aircraft and catering, which is completely normal procedure when a rat is found on board,” SAS spokesperson Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukuji said in a statement to USA Today.
Lindegren Kaokuji said that in accordance with regulations and procedures, the plane had to be diverted for “inspection and fumigation” operations and to transfer the passengers on board to another aircraft.
“In these cases, there are very clear procedures that are followed, including thoroughly inspecting the aircraft and all supplier processes to see what needs to be improved or changed to avoid this happening in the future,” she said.
Lindegren Kaouj said the shaggy plane returned to its departure point after landing in Denmark, while other passengers continued on their journey to Spain, despite a two-and-a-half hour delay.
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Jarle Borrestad, a passenger on a flight to Malaga, Spain, spoke to the BBC about the rat’s behaviour during his flight.
Borrestad told the news outlet that the rat first appeared “in a food box that the woman sitting next to me on the plane had opened.”
Borrestad told the news agency that the situation was very calm and people were “not stressed at all.”
He joked about the incident on Facebook with a post full of laughing emojis.
“Believe it or not, the lady next to me on SAS Plus opened her food and a rat jumped out,” the post read. “We have now turned back and landed at CPH due to a flight change.”
Despite this, Mr Borrestad admitted to the BBC that he wore socks over his trousers to stop rats from crawling up his legs.
Ajane Forbes is a reporter for USA Today’s National Trends team. Ajane covers breaking news, auto recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy. Email: ajane@usatoday.com aforbes@gannett.com. Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter) From @forbesfineest.