A Scandinavian Airlines flight from Oslo, Norway, to Malaga, Spain, made an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark, after a mouse reportedly crawled out of a passenger’s meal.
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According to The Guardian, rodents are strictly prohibited onboard planes since they pose a serious safety risk by potentially chewing through vital electrical wiring. “Believe it or not. A lady next to me … opened her food, and a mouse jumped out,” wrote Jarle Borrestad in a Facebook post. He shared a photo of himself smiling alongside two women reportedly amused by the event.
SAS spokesperson Øystein Schmidt acknowledged the incident, stating, “In line with our procedures, there was a change of aircraft.” The passengers were safely transferred to another flight and continued their journey to Málaga, Spain. Schmidt emphasized that such occurrences are extremely rare and noted that SAS would conduct a review with its suppliers to prevent future incidents.
A similar incident occurred in 2017 when a British Airways flight from Heathrow to San Francisco was delayed for four hours after a mouse was spotted on board, costing the airline around £250,000($332,925). Unscheduled landings, while often related to safety concerns, can happen for more unusual reasons. Last year, a United Airlines flight from Houston to Amsterdam was diverted after a business-class passenger caused a scene when his first meal choice was unavailable