Portugal flight grounded after 132 hamsters run loose around plane

The hamsters ran wild for several days in the aircraft. Photo / 123rf

A plane was reportedly grounded for five days after 132 hamsters escaped their cages and caused havoc on the aircraft in Portugal last week.

The TAP Air Portugal flight departed Lisbon on Wednesday, November 13, and later arrived at Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel Island, in the Azores archipelago.

The Airbus 320 held a shipment of ferrets, several birds and 132 hamsters meant for a local pet shop, reported a Portugal newspaper Correio da Manha.

Two hours later, the aircraft landed and baggage handlers opened up the cargo hold to unload the items. They spotted a hamster running loose and soon discovered the cages had been damaged. All 132 hamsters were running free around the hold.

Sources within the airline told Correio da Manha the animals were turned away from a previous flight because the transport boxes did not meet compliance standards but were accepted on the following flight.

Since hamsters can chew through sensitive wires, the £83 million (NZ$179 million) aircraft had to be grounded until every single rodent was captured.

On Saturday, 16 creatures remained loose in the plane but by Sunday, they had all been captured and the plane was cleared to return to Lisbon.

This isn’t the first time animals have run loose at an airport.

An international Air New Zealand flight was delayed over three hours in September after a rat was discovered in the aircraft cargo hold.

Air New Zealand flight NZ8 from Auckland to San Francisco was scheduled to depart at 7.45pm on Thursday but was delayed to 11pm.

In July, a shipment of eels was being handled from Toronto to Vancouver when a container box spilled by accident during unloading.

The video of the eels writhing on the tarmac went viral on social media, prompting many to reminisce about the 2006 movie Snakes on a Plane.