The mischievous moggy was heard meowing by crew members before maintenance staff were called to remove the plane’s panels in a bid to find the cat – sparking delays lasting two days
A cheeky cat managed to sneak onto a Ryanair plane as it was preparing to take off – causing two days’ worth of delays for passengers.
Crew members could hear the mischievous moggy meowing and called maintenance staff to the scene, where several panels from the Boeing 737 were removed to reveal the cat hiding inside the electrical bay. A photograph of the pesky tuxedo cat, which showed it peering out its hiding place, was snapped by workers.
The cat then caused further problems by deciding to run through the wiring of the plane. It meant the flight had to be cancelled and several cargo panels were removed to track the animal, which kept moving around in an effort to stay on board. Eventually, the cat snuck out of the plane and made its way down the stairs after a door was left open.
An image was later taken of the animal walking across the runway. The Ryanair jet was preparing to leave the airport in Rome last week with the incident happened, and the plane was grounded for two whole days before it finally headed to Germany, NeedToKnow reports.
A source said the stowaway could have caused major problems at an altitude of 30,000ft. They also said it could have been pretty costly, potentially setting the Irish airline back tens of thousands of pounds. The Mirror has contacted Ryanair for comment.
It comes after a cat in Australia was accidentally left on a plane, leading her to make three trips between New Zealand and Australia in a 24 hour period alone. Maine Coon cat Mittens became an accidental jetsetter when her cage was left in the cargo hold of an aircraft.
The eight-year-old moggy had only meant to go from Christchurch to Melbourne with her family, who were moving homes on January 13. Owner Margo Neas waited at the Australian airport for Mittens to be unloaded for the plane, but no cat appeared. Three hours went by with no sight of the four-legged pal.
Ground staff told Margo that Mittens was in the wrong country after the plane made the return journey, which could take up to seven and a half hours.
