Two pigeons terrorized the cabin of a Delta Air Lines flight, flying across the plane while passengers screamed over the unusual sight. Both birds, fortunately, were successfully caught and released, to the delight of the people onboard.
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According to an Instagram post by Tom Caw, a passenger, the incident took place on Saturday, May 24, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. While he was onboard Flight 2348 and waiting to depart, the pilot made an unusual announcement.
“The pilot got on the mic and confirmed a pigeon was on the plane, and said he had no experience with the situation,” Caw wrote.
Given the strange nature of the events, baggage handlers entered the plane’s cabin and successfully managed to carry the pigeon off the plane. As per Caw, celebrations erupted inside the plane. People applauded, and even a girl asked if she could pet the inopportune bird.
However, the passengers’ torture didn’t end there. Unbeknownst to everyone on board the plane, including passengers and staff members, there was another uninvited guest left to be escorted off the flight.
“The plane eventually pulled away and began taxiing to the runway,” Caw added. “And then another pigeon emerged!”
Second Pigeon
The pigeon, contrary to the first one, which was found under a seat, began flying across the plane. Caw managed to capture the exact moment that one man, heroically, used his jacket to capture the flying bird.
“The woman next to me was quite panicky about it,” Caw told CBS News. “She said to me, ‘Oh I’m going to need a free wine. I’m going to need a free wine out of this.'”
The plane returned to the airport’s gate. The same baggage handler who took the first pigeon took the second, only minutes apart.
While it isn’t clear how exactly both pigeons entered the flight, Caw joked about it by theorizing an explanation.
“My guess is the pigeons were tired of flying and wanted snacks,” Caw said. “They didn’t know this flight to MSN is too short for Delta to offer beverage/snack service.”
Following the incident, Delta Air Lines issued a statement, addressing the unique pigeon situation.
“Delta appreciates the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft prior to departure,” the airline said. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”