A Scandinavian Airlines flight en route from Oslo to Málaga made an emergency landing in Copenhagen on Wednesday after a passenger found a live mouse in his meal.
Due to the potential hazard of rodents chewing through electrical wiring on flights, the pilot landed the plane in Copenhagen, according to a report by The Guardian. Passengers were later transferred to another flight heading to Málaga.
“Believe it or not, a lady next to me opened her food and a mouse jumped out,” said passenger Jarle Borrestad in a statement on Facebook.
The diversion followed company procedures because the furry stowaway presented a safety risk, airline spokesperson Oystein Schmidt told AFP.
According to Borrestad, passengers remained calm, saying they “were not stressed at all.” However, he admitted to putting his socks over his trousers to prevent the mouse from crawling up his legs.
The diversion caused only a minor delay, adding a few extra hours to the journey, Borrestad said.
Scandinavian Airlines confirmed the rarity of such incidents and assured that procedures are in place to handle them. A spokesperson for the airline said, as quoted by the New York Post, “We have established procedures for such situations, which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.”