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Forget snakes on a plane. How about a rat? A KLM flight to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) experienced an unusual incident this week after a rat was discovered onboard as the Airbus A330 crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). The unexpected sighting occurred and panicked passengers as they watched the rat move near the overhead bins and across the curtain rail. With no practical diversion options available over open water, the captain continued the flight to Aruba as planned. The rat did not interfere with onboard service and no injuries were reported.
Upon landing at the airport, the aircraft underwent immediate operational checks and was pulled from service for extensive cleaning and inspection. Because of the required sanitation procedures and the need to locate and remove the rat, the aircraft was unable to continue its scheduled routing to Bonaire International Airport (BON) and then onto Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). As a result of the incident, more than 250 travelers were stranded across Aruba and Bonaire. This marking a significant disruption to KLM’s triangle route between Amsterdam, Aruba, and Bonaire.
KLM stated that the unusual nature of the situation required a more rigorous cleaning and safety assessment than normal. Rodents can pose a potential risk to aircraft systems because they may damage wiring or other components. I’ve had friends suffer from squirrels eating car parts in a similar manner. Given these considerations, the airline chose not to operate any further flights with the aircraft until safety and hygiene standards were fully restored.
Affected passengers were provided hotel accommodations and KLM advised travelers to apply for compensation under EU passenger rights regulations. Whether passengers qualify for additional compensation under EC261 will depend on whether the event is deemed an extraordinary circumstance. If the rat’s presence is considered unavoidable and outside the airline’s control then compensation may not apply. If preventable, passengers could be eligible for up to €600.
Anthony’s Take: While aviation disruptions caused by animals are rare, it’s usually bird strikes that are the culprit. This is a unique one and it put KLM in an unfortunate situation with the need to make sure the aircraft was fit to fly.
(Featured Image Credit: @surajit_ghosh2 via X.)
(H/T: One Mile at a Time.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
