Airline passenger news and views

Holidaymakers were left stranded when their plane was grounded - after the pilot spotted an unwelcome guest in the form of a rat scuttling around the cockpit in the middle of a flight.

The charter service between Gatwick and Paphos, in Cyprus, landed safely in the Mediterranean island despite fears the rodent could chew through crucial wires.

But the Thomas Cook passengers hoping to fly back to the UK on the same plane had to endure a 24-hour wait while engineers scoured the aircraft. However, after a thorough search they were unable to track down the rat. After a wiring check the plane was then flown back to Gatwick.

The Civil Aviation Authority's aircraft safety team said rats can potentially gnaw through cables. A spokesman said: 'The aircraft has a built-in alarm system so that any break in the wires would have set off a flashing light alert and the plane would have then been diverted to the nearest airport for landing.

'The crew will be trained to know exactly what function each wire carries out and will respond appropriately to get through the situation.' 

The spokesman said the CAA often gets reports of cockroaches on planes, but rarely rats.

She said: 'The normal safety checks will be carried out but it's not really something an airline can control other than to keep the plane as clean as possible.' 

A Thomas Cook spokesman said: 'Any delays to our flying schedule are regrettable  however the spokesman went onto say 'Only a very small number of sightings of rodents on board aircraft occur each year.

I would imagine our furry friend just fancied some warmer weather!

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