Bird vs. baggage handler: How 2 pigeons delayed a Delta flight

Yahoo

4 days ago

A Delta flight departing from Minneapolis had to return to the gate twice after two pigeons caused chaos on the plane.
Delta Flight 2348 was delayed by 56 minutes on Saturday because of two stowaway pigeons that were discovered in the plane's main cabin, according to ABC News. The flight was departing from Minneapolis with a destination of Madison, Wisconsin.
One of the plane's passengers, Tom Caw, spotted the first pigeon before the flight took off from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
After a flight attendant was told about the bird, the pilot announced the sighting and then returned the plane to the gate so the pigeon could be removed.
As the plane taxied out to take off — for a second time — a second pigeon appeared and flew down the main aisle of the cabin, according to NBC. The emergence of a second bird prompted several people to scream.
'Pilot said when he radioed the control tower about us coming back due to a pigeon, the guy said that was a first for him,' Caw wrote, according to NBC. 'Pilot told him it was the second time for him — the first being half an hour earlier.'
Video captured by Caw shows that one man attempted to catch one of the pigeons using his jacket, per ABC.
The first pigeon was captured and removed by a Delta Air Lines baggage handler who came aboard and found the pigeon walking underneath the seats, reported CBS.
When the plane returned to the gate for a second time, a different baggage handler boarded the plane to remove the second pigeon.
'My guess is the pigeons were tired of flying and wanted snacks,' said Caw, according to NBC. 'They didn't know this flight to MSN is too short for Delta to offer beverage/snack service.'
Delta issued a statement on Tuesday apologizing for the delay and disruption.
According to ABC, the statement said that the airline 'appreciates the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft prior to departure and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.'
The plane, an Airbus A220, was carrying 119 passengers and five crew members and successfully made the flight to Dane County Regional Airport in Madison.