A hamster hunt took place in Ponta Delgada a few days ago. An Airbus A321 Neo operated by TAP in the Azores had to stay on the ground longer because escaped animals caused chaos in the cargo hold.
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- On a TAP Air Portugal plane, 132 hamsters escaped from their transport boxes, preventing the return flight.
- The plane had flown from Lisbon to the Azores on November 13 and remained on the ground for several days.
- The escaped animals first had to be recaptured and the plane inspected for possible damage.
- The plane only returned to Lisbon on November 17th, where it will undergo a thorough inspection.
Hamster mishap at TAP Air Portugal: An Airbus A321 Neo was unexpectedly grounded in the Azores after 132 hamsters escaped from their boxes in the cargo hold.
The incident occurred at Ponta Delgada Airport on the island of São Miguel, where the jet had arrived from Lisbon on November 13. The planned return flight the next day had to be canceled, and the plane was only able to return to Lisbon on November 17, as "aeroTELEGRAPH" writes.
Transportation of the animals was originally planned earlier
What were the animals doing on the plane in the first place? The hamsters are said to have been part of a freight delivery for a local pet shop.
While unloading the cargo, the ground crew noticed that the agile animals had escaped from their transport boxes. In a video that the newspaper "Correio da Manhã" shows on its website, one of the hamsters can be seen running through the cargo hold.
According to reports in the Portuguese media, the transportation of the animals was originally planned for an earlier flight. However, because the boxes did not comply with the regulations, the project had to be postponed. However, it is not known what changes were made to make the transport possible.
To ensure that there were no more hamsters on the plane and that no damage had been caused by the animals - such as to cables - the hamsters first had to be caught and then the jet thoroughly checked. As a result of these measures, the Airbus A321 Neo remained in Ponta Delgada for several days.
On Sunday, the aircraft finally returned to Lisbon, where it will undergo an intensive inspection.
This article was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). All content created by AI is verified by the editorial team.
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