‘Grinning cat’ escapes on airplane and presents pre-takeoff security demonstration
The frisky feline was gently removed from wandering the aisles after breaking loose from its carrier and inadvertently becoming part of a Southwest Airlines safety demonstration
A cat broke loose from its carrier onboard a Southwest Airlines plane, becoming an impromptu part in the pre-takeoff safety demonstration. Passengers were then treated to a petting session as a flight attendant scooped up the frisky feline and paraded him down the aisles.
The docile cat looked very peaceful while it was taken down the plane, as crew members and travellers alike had an opportunity to stroke the animal. Despite the attendant making a couple of laps round the plane, no one claimed the errant kitty.
Eventually – someone looked up from their tablet and saw that their pet was on the loose, claiming the cat as their own. The animal was safely placed back in its carrier for the Thanksgiving holiday.
A hilarious video has emerged of the entire affair, surfacing around four days ago on Instagram and viewed 2.6million times. It is unclear whether the plane was delayed by the cat’s escapade, but the incident appeared to certainly bring some smiles to passengers on the busiest travel days of the year – Thanksgiving.
“It’s like the cat is checking tray tables in preparation for arrival,” one Instagram user joked.
“Cat behaves better than many people on planes these days,” said another.
“Why does this never happen on my flights?” said another commenter.
Southwest Airlines rules state passengers are allowed to bring cats aboard domestic flights for $125 (£90), provided the animal is over eight weeks old and can fit inside an airline-approved carrier that fits under the seat of the ticket-holder.
In 2023, JetBlue flight crew were treated to a rather fluffy surprise this week after they discovered an unusual passenger wandering down the aisle.
At the rather unexpected presentation of the feline Yi wrote: “On last night’s @JetBlue flight, ONT-JFK. ‘Is anyone missing a CAT. A grey-and-white CAT.’ Yes I woke up for this.”
Eventually, it was found out that the cat – a cheeky chap named Brian – had confounded his owner and escaped his carrier.
But on the other end of the spectrum, in 2021 shocked plane passengers reportedly watched on in horror as a woman started to breastfeed her cat onboard a flight.
The bizarre news came from a message from Delta Air flight DL1360 to Atlanta, seemingly from the crew, suggesting that the woman was refusing to stop what she was doing.
The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System message read: “Req Redcoat meet AC Pax (passenger) in (seat) 13A is breastfeeding a cat and will not put cat back in its carrier when FA (flight attendant) requested.”
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