TINY TERROR

Passenger Plane Forced to Turn Around Due to Tiny Stowaway

There’s a good reason for the dramatic reaction.

A Scandinavian Airlines flight had to return to its airport of origin after a rodent was spotted on board. Flight 1583 was over Belgium en route to Málaga, Spain, from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Sweden, when it made a U-turn and returned to the Swedish capital. The Airbus A320neo took off on Feb. 7 but, nearly two hours into its journey, turned around and headed back, landing again nearly three and a half hours after its original departure. The plane had to return “after a suspected rodent sighting on board,” a Scandinavian spokesperson told Business Insider. “We followed established procedures and, as a precaution, returned the aircraft to Arlanda to carry out standard inspections of both the aircraft and relevant suppliers. Passengers were boarded on a new aircraft to Malaga shortly after.” Rodents can gnaw through wiring and cables on board airplanes. A second flight finally arrived five hours after it was meant to land in the Costa del Sol.