'Pigeon impossible': Birds take off without boarding passes, delay Delta flight twice; watch

Time of India

28-05-2025

In a scene that could've been lifted straight from a comedy movie, a
flight was twice delayed on Saturday, not by weather or technical glitches, but by a pair of pigeons that decided to take their airborne adventure inside the cabin.
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Delta Flight 2348, bound for Madison, Wisconsin, had just begun boarding at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport when the first feathery intruder was spotted flapping through the aircraft.
'A passenger told the flight attendant there was a pigeon on the plane,' recalled Tom Caw, who documented the bizarre encounter on Instagram. 'The pilot got on the mic and confirmed it. Said he had no experience with this situation.'
Pigeon 1: The first flap
In a video footage, one passenger can be seen attempting to catch the pigeon with his jacket as it darted above the heads of amused and slightly bewildered passengers.
Eventually, the ground crew boarded the Airbus A220 and removed the bird. The cabin erupted in applause.
A young passenger even asked if she could pet it.
But just as the aircraft taxied away from the gate, ready to finally depart, pigeon number two made its dramatic entry.
Pigeon 2: The sequel
'This is my video of it flying through the cabin,' Caw posted. 'It was caught, and we returned to the gate. The pilot radioed the control tower and told them we were coming back because of a pigeon — again. The guy said that was a first for him. The pilot replied it was his second pigeon of the night.'
Once again, baggage handlers came to the rescue, capturing the second bird and restoring order. Neither pigeon was harmed.
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Delta later confirmed the incident, saying the flight was delayed by 56 minutes and commending the actions of both passengers and crew.
'We appreciate the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft before departure, and we apologise to our customers for the delay in their travel,' the airline said in a statement to ABC News.
Too short for snacks
The flight eventually completed its short hop to Madison with 119 passengers and five crew members, according to data from FlightAware.com.
Caw, taking the ordeal in stride, joked that perhaps the pigeons simply preferred the comforts of commercial flying to flapping their own wings.
'My guess is the pigeons were tired of flying and wanted snacks,' he quipped. 'They didn't know this flight to MSN is too short for Delta to offer beverage/snack service.'