The Reason for Thoroughly Searching the Aircraft for 5 Days... Because of This Small and Cute Thing

Hamster Cage in Cargo Hold Damaged
Over 130 Hamsters Escape

More than 130 hamsters escaped from the cargo hold of an aircraft, causing the flight to be suspended for five days.

According to the New York Post and others on the 18th (local time), hamsters were discovered inside a TAP Portugal Airbus 320 aircraft on the 12th. The plane was en route to Ponta Delgada, the capital of S?o Miguel Island in the Azores, when the hamsters were found onboard, leading to an emergency landing.

More than 130 hamsters escaped from the cargo hold of an aircraft, causing the flight operations of the airline to be suspended for five days. TAP Portugal Airlines

After airline and airport officials had all passengers disembark and conducted a search, it was determined that more than 130 hamsters had escaped due to damage to the hamster cages in the cargo hold.

The hamsters were scheduled to be delivered to a pet store in the Azores, and white ferrets and birds were also included in the shipment. Originally, the hamster shipper was supposed to take an earlier flight but was denied boarding and thus used TAP Portugal instead.

The airline also shared photos of the incident on social media. The photos showed staff retrieving hamsters hiding in the cargo hold. Although all the hamsters were captured, the airline suspended operations of the aircraft for five days for inspection.

This is not the first time an airline has faced difficulties due to hamsters. In June, a domestic flight in China was delayed for over an hour because a passenger secretly brought a hamster onboard.

When the hamster the passenger carried went missing inside the cabin, passengers and crew searched for it. A video posted on social media showed a flight attendant kneeling on the floor looking for the hamster, sparking controversy. Eventually, when the hamster was not found, all passengers were asked to disembark. It was reported that these passengers waited in the airport terminal until the hamster was located.