A quirky and unexpected situation led to a four-day delay at a Portuguese airport when a plane was grounded after hamsters escaped from their cargo hold.
The incident occurred when TAP Air Portugal’s flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada was on the tarmac with numerous passengers, along with hamsters, a large animal similar to a marten, and birds in the cargo hold.
The plane was supposed to head to a pet store near the airport, but it had to land in Ponta Delgada after 132 hamsters escaped in the cargo hold.
According to officials, the plane was kept grounded for safety reasons, as the hamsters posed a potential risk to the aircraft’s electrical wires.
Workers spent four days searching for the hamsters inside the plane, after which the Airbus A320 was cleared to return to Lisbon.