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Hundreds of passengers were ordered off a plane bound for London from Ottawa moments before it was due to take off after a huge rat was discovered on board - reports news.com.au
The Boeing 767 was waiting to taxi down the runway when a passenger spotted the rodent in an overhead locker, The Sun reports.
The captain of Air Canada flight AC888 immediately ordered all 205 passengers off the plane so a pest control team could try to catch the rat.
But despite an intensive search, the rodent could not be found. The flight was cancelled, with passengers spending the night at a hotel near Ottawa's Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.
Richard Jones, 25, from London, had been due to collect his girlfriend Victoria from London Heathrow.
"She called to say that they had boarded the plane and the doors were closed when the captain came on the PA system and said, 'We've got bad news. A giant rat has been seen in the overhead lockers and I need everyone to get off while we try and find it', Mr Jones said.
"Everyone disembarked and went back to the departure lounge to wait.
"But after about 30 minutes the captain walked up to the gate and shook his head. Then they announced that the flight was cancelled."
An Air Canada spokeswoman said: "An aircraft was taken out of service after a rodent was found on board before a flight."
Richard's girlfriend finally touched down in the UK after taking another jet.
"I've heard some excuses for delays before, but never because a rat has hidden away on a flight. It's incredible," Mr Jones said.
It is the latest in a series of animal scares on planes. A Qantas flight was grounded last April after four python snakes escaped from a cage.
And a packed jet from New York to Heathrow was halted on the runway after a mouse ran through the cabin last October.
