An unusual episode in the Azores kept a TAP plane detained at Ponta Delgada airport since Wednesday, November 13, after more than 130 hamsters escaped in the hold. According to the “Aviação TV” portal, until last Saturday, there were still 16 rodents loose inside the Airbus A321neo, which ended up being caught during the day.
The incident occurred when baggage collection teams noticed that the carriers holding the animals had been damaged, allowing the hamsters to escape. These small rodents, which could cause significant damage by chewing on electrical cables, were part of an order destined for a pet store. The cargo also included ferrets and birds, which were destined for Ponta Delgada.
For safety reasons, the aircraft was prevented from returning to Lisbon while maintenance teams tried to capture all the loose hamsters. The capture operation lasted several days, affecting TAP’s flight schedule.
Before boarding the Airbus, the order had already faced problems, being initially refused on another flight due to non-compliance with safety standards, as reported by “Correio da Manhã”. However, he was accepted onto the next flight, leading to this unexpected incident.
TAP, contacted by the media, did not issue any comment on the case. The Airbus A321neo ended up returning to Lisbon in the early afternoon of Sunday, November 17, landing at 1:27 pm. No details have yet been released about the losses resulting from this unusual episode.
footage showing one of the Hamsters on the cargo hold
— Air Safety #OTD by Francisco Cunha (@OnDisasters)
