Over 250 travelers stranded on Aruba, Bonaire over rat on KLM flight

A rat on board a KLM plane left over 250 travelers stranded in Aruba and Bonaire. The animal was discovered on Wednesday evening on board the flight from Amsterdam and Aruba, resulting in KLM having to cancel the return flight, a spokesperson for the Dutch airline confirmed to RTL Nieuws.

“We don’t know how the animal got on board. The rat was discovered over the ocean. Very unfortunate for the passengers who had to experience this,” the KLM spokesperson said.

The flight continued as normal after the critter’s discovery. “The plane was flying over the ocean. The pilot didn’t really have a choice,” the spokesperson said. “The passengers remained calm, and the staff kept a close eye on the animal. The animal also didn’t come near the food.”

Once in Aruba, the plane was supposed to fly back to Amsterdam, but that flight was canceled. “We canceled the return flight because the plane had to be specially and extra thoroughly cleaned because of the rat.”

That left over 250 passengers who were scheduled to fly from Aruba to Amsterdam via Bonaire stranded. KLM arranged hotels for them, and they can apply for compensation.

“Very frustrating and very unpleasant,” the KLM spokesperson said. “This is a unique situation for us as well. I can’t recall ever experiencing this before.”