Plane makes emergency landing after passenger finds live mouse inside flight’s meal box

A plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a live rat emerged from a passenger’s in-flight meal. The rat sprang from the meal box and disappeared somewhere within the aircraft.

The incident took place on Wednesday aboard a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight from Norway's capital Oslo, to Malaga, Spain. 

Due to the unexpected presence of the rat, the plane diverted to Copenhagen, Denmark, for an emergency landing. 

Airlines spokesperson Oystein Schmidt explained to AFP that the decision to land was in accordance with the airline’s safety protocols, as rats on board pose a risk.

"The presence of rats can be dangerous due to the possibility of them chewing through electrical wiring," he said.

Following the incident, passengers were transferred to another plane and flown to Spain.

Schmidt said such an incident “happens extremely rarely.” 

"We have established procedures for such situations, which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again," he added.

One of the passengers, Jarle Borrestad shared his account with the BBC. 

According to Borrestad, the rat appeared as a female passenger next to him opened her meal, then quickly disappeared into the plane. 

Despite the unusual situation, he stated that passengers remained calm and were “not stressed at all.”

The passenger stated that he pulled his socks over his trousers to prevent the rat from climbing up his legs. He also said the emergency landing only extended their journey by a few hours.