Rat on the plane: KLM passengers are stuck in the Caribbean

Stranded in paradise! 254 passengers from the Dutch airline KLM were stranded in the Caribbean because of a rodent. Their plane didn’t take off because there was a rat on board.

How “The Telegraph“ reported that the passengers were waiting in Aruba on Wednesday (Island off Venezuela, ed.) excited to board their holiday plane. The Airbus A330 was supposed to take them back to Amsterdam after a stopover on the neighboring island of Bonaire. But nothing came of it.

The captain suddenly made an announcement in the terminal. He shared, “that Airplane could not take off because a rat was discovered on board,” said the newspaper. According to KLM, the animal was already on board on the outward flight from Amsterdam.

A video shows the rodent darting into the cabin through the overhead compartments above the seats. Since the rat could gnaw on cables or important aircraft parts, the flight was canceled: “The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew members is our top priority. We have therefore decided to cancel the flight from Aruba via Bonaire to Amsterdam,” a KLM spokesman told the newspaper.

Only continue your flight after thorough cleaning

Only after thorough cleaning and when it is certain that the rat is off board can the Airbus be able to transport passengers again. The 254 passengers were extended their vacation taken to hotels. According to EU Claim, which advocates for the rights of passengers, it is unclear whether they are entitled to compensation. A spokesman for De Telegraaf: “Most precedents assume that this is an exceptional case. KLM has no control over the rat, and the rat is not part of the normal business operations of an airline.”

If it can be proven that KLM had the rat checked in through its own fault (e.g. through the caterer), the chances of compensation would be good.