Beijing - The removal of a rat caused a 16-hour delay overnight of Shenzhen Airlines Flight ZH9934 from Changchun in northern China to Shenzhen in southern China at Yantai airport on Sunday.
A female passenger told the Xinwenhua newspaper that at first nobody offered any explanation of why they all had to disembark, but later they were told about the rodent, which could have chewed through wires.
Subsequent checks confirmed no damage to the wiring, airport authorities told the paper, adding that regulations barred planes from taking off with rodents.
The ”flying rat” might have stowed away in commercial cargo, passenger luggage or by climbing up into the landing gear, the paper reported.
“Nobody knows how the rat got on the plane,” one staff member was quoted as saying.
dpa