Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) said one of its flights had to make an emergency landing after a mouse escaped from a passenger’s meal during the flight on Wednesday.
The plane was en route from the Norwegian capital Oslo to Malaga in Spain and was forced to make an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The diversion was in accordance with airline procedures because the furry intruder posed a safety risk, airline spokesman Oystein Schmidt told AFP.
Later, the passengers on the flight were transferred to Malaga on another plane.
Airlines usually have strict restrictions on rodents on board aircraft in order to prevent them from chewing on electrical wires.
“This is extremely rare,” Mr. Schmidt said.
“We have put in place procedures for such situations, which also includes checking with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.”
Jarl Borestad, who witnessed the incident himself, told BBC News in a recorded video that the mouse escaped from the food box that the woman sitting next to him on the flight was opening.
Mr Borestad said the situation was very calm and that people “did not feel stressed at all”.
However, he admitted that he put his socks over his pants so that the mouse would not crawl up his legs.
Mr. Borestad said the diversion only added a few extra hours to the journey.
It’s the second rodent-related travel incident in a week.
Train services in southern England had to be terminated mid-journey after Two squirrels climbed onto a cart. And one refused to go down
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”