Feathered Fiend Causes Cabin Chaos, Forces Virgin to Forsake Jet After 90-Minute Delay

A feathered stowaway caused chaos for Virgin Australia passengers on a Tasmania-bound flight from Melbourne.

Passengers on a Tasmania-bound Virgin Australia flight had their travel plans delayed Monday morning thanks to a sparrow that flew into the cabin just prior to boarding. Despite the crew’s attempts to catch the bird, the plucky stowaway repeatedly evaded capture. After about 90 minutes, the airline gave up and decided to move passengers to a bird-free aircraft.

Speaking to News.com.au, Virgin Australia spokeswoman Libby Armstrong said that the decision to change planes was taken “to prevent our passengers getting in a flap and to ensure they would be in flight as soon as possible.” Armstrong went on to explain that the delayed passengers, who were originally scheduled to land in Launceston at 9:40 a.m., were due to arrive at their destination at 11:15 a.m.

“We hope to have the sparrow on its merry way as soon as possible too,” she added.

In a similar incident earlier this year, Virgin Australia staff at Gold Coast Airport (OOL) were forced to remove a snake from the stairs of a Sydney-bound aircraft just prior to takeoff. Thankfully, the snake was spotted by crew before the flight was airborne.

Passenger Stuart Robert was on hand to watch the scene unfold, later telling MailOnline that the snake “was probably enjoying the warmth of the tarmac and steel and may have made its way up there as people were boarding.” Downplaying the drama, he added: “It wasn’t quite Snakes on a Plane and we didn’t have an extra passenger to Sydney.”

[Photo: iStock]