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We've all been there. You dutifully arrive at the airport two hours before your flight, slog through security and finally reach your gate just to find out that the flight is delayed. It's a crazy world out there and you never know what's going to get in the way of taking off on time. Maybe it's stormy skies, maybe it's a delayed crew, or maybe it's...escaped pythons? This might seem far-fetched, but just ask some passengers in Australia how real that can be. Not to mention the cockroaches and catfish that have thrown a wrench in the works (humans are just as culpable as animals, by the way). Here's our list of some of the wackiest -- and scariest -- flight delays.
10. Bug Bungle
Florida has the reputation of being a creepy, crawly kind of state, but passengers aboard an American Airlines flight bound from Miami to Washington, DC, in March 2010 were still surprised to learn that their plane was delayed due to a cockroach infestation in the cabin. A colony of the much-maligned insects had taken up residence on the curtain hung between the first class cabin and the cockpit. It took 90 minutes to contain the cockroach problem and for the plane to be cleared to leave.
9. Turtle Love
Passengers at JFK airport are no strangers to delays. The air space around New York is among the most congested in the country according to FAA spokesperson Paul Takemoto, with three major airports (including LaGuardia and Newark) in very close proximity. But in July 2009, something far less predictable than flight congestion caused a runway snafu when scores of diamondback terrapins from nearby Jamaica Bay plodded onto the runway in search of a place to breed. Port Authority workers hustled to remove some 78 amorous turtles from the runway, piling them into a truck and returning them to the bay. The operation caused flights to be pushed back as long as 90 minutes at JFK and affected planes taking off from LaGuardia as well as air traffic control tried to get everyone back on schedule.
8. Toilet Trouble
Some wily passengers decided to test the suction ability of the toilets on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to London in August 2009, causing the trip to be delayed ten hours. Solid materials including bottles, cups and sanitary pads were tossed into all five of the airplane's toilets, causing a serious snag in the pneumatic system. The clogged toilets were fixed in just two hours, but the more than 200 passengers aboard the flight had to wait an additional eight more hours for takeoff due to a night flight ban at Heathrow airport.
7. Catfish Conundrum
Who knew that catfish can use their pectoral fins to go for a temporary stroll on land? Passengers and pilots aboard a Delta Airlines flight learned this troublesome lesson in biology in August 2008 when their jet was denied landing at Melbourne International Airport in Florida due to the presence of walking catfish on the runway. Marooned by high water from Tropical Storm Fay, the four fish were accompanied by two gopher tortoises, a blue indigo snake and an alligator. The approaching jet had to circle until the lively obstacles had been relocated to a nearby pond. Luckily for airport personnel, the gator is said to have slinked away to a drainage ditch all on its own.
6. Fight Attendants
Passengers aren't the only ones who get a little testy when an unforeseen delay hits. Two female flight attendants on a Delta Connection flight in February 2010 bound from Rochester to Atlanta were removed from duty pending an internal investigation after a fight between them compounded a flight delay. A sick passenger had already caused the plane to return to the gate before take-off, when the fight between the airline's employees broke out. The passengers were asked to deplane from the aircraft and were forced to take other flights to reach their destinations.
5. Over-Ambitious Employee
Bomb threats are a scary reality, but the one called in to an American Airlines flight in Miami in December 2009 was most unusual due to its motive. Claudia De La Rosa wanted to be sure that her boss, who was running late, would catch his flight to Honduras. Instead of just booking him on a later flight, she called and emailed officials at Miami International Airport with reports that a bomb had been planted. The flight was delayed as the aircraft and baggage were searched for explosives that did not exist. Hopefully the boss appreciated her efforts since De La Rosa was traced via IP address to her office, where she was promptly arrested.
4. Rabbits Doing Their Thing
Rabbits have a frisky reputation, but passengers at the airport in Milan, Italy, weren't prepared for those natural instincts to interfere with their scheduled flights. In June 2007 an excessive number of mating hares caused radar problems so severe that they halted takeoffs and landings. The 'hare delay' lasted a few hours, during which a capture plan was put into effect -- some 200 volunteers helped scare the creatures from their burrows into awaiting nets. The animals were then reportedly moved to a wildlife preserve to resume their activities.
3. Forgetful Passenger
Frequent flier John Discala (aka Johnny Jet) flies roughly 150,000 miles a year and has seen it all. But his oddest delay, he says, came at JFK Airport in September 2008, when his American Airlines flight was forced to return to the gate due to an upset passenger. "We taxied for about 45 minutes and we were just about to takeoff when we started back to the gate," he remembers. "I thought we burned too much fuel, but it turned out it was because a passenger realized he forgot his laptop in the terminal and started freaking out." Discala said the passenger would not listen to flight attendants and would not sit down, so the pilot made a decision to go back to the gate. After the passenger was removed from the plane, the flight was delayed even longer as his baggage was unloaded from the cargo hold.
2. Gold Fever
Hockey is serious business in Canada, especially when the nation's team was battling on home ice for an Olympic medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver passengers watching the final minutes of the Canada versus U.S. gold medal game on airport televisions ignored repeated pleas from gate agents to board their flight to Montreal. But it was well worth the wait, many fans would argue -- Canada beat its biggest rival 3-2 in an overtime thriller.
1. MIA Baby Pythons
Like something straight from a horror movie, a Qantas airplane missed two scheduled flights in April 2009 after it was discovered that four baby Stimson's pythons were unaccounted for following a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne, Australia. The non-venomous snakes were being transported in the plane's cargo hold and were thought to be safely packed inside a bag that was secured in a foam box. The plane was fumigated and returned to service, but passengers' minds were not exactly put at ease since the snakes were never found.
We've all been there. You dutifully arrive at the airport two hours before your flight, slog through security and finally reach your gate just to find out that the flight is delayed. It's a crazy world out there and you never know what's going to get in the way of taking off on time. Maybe it's stormy skies, maybe it's a delayed crew, or maybe it's...escaped pythons? This might seem far-fetched, but just ask some passengers in Australia how real that can be. Not to mention the cockroaches and catfish that have thrown a wrench in the works (humans are just as culpable as animals, by the way). Here's our list of some of the wackiest -- and scariest -- flight delays.
10. Bug Bungle
Florida has the reputation of being a creepy, crawly kind of state, but passengers aboard an American Airlines flight bound from Miami to Washington, DC, in March 2010 were still surprised to learn that their plane was delayed due to a cockroach infestation in the cabin. A colony of the much-maligned insects had taken up residence on the curtain hung between the first class cabin and the cockpit. It took 90 minutes to contain the cockroach problem and for the plane to be cleared to leave.
9. Turtle Love
Passengers at JFK airport are no strangers to delays. The air space around New York is among the most congested in the country according to FAA spokesperson Paul Takemoto, with three major airports (including LaGuardia and Newark) in very close proximity. But in July 2009, something far less predictable than flight congestion caused a runway snafu when scores of diamondback terrapins from nearby Jamaica Bay plodded onto the runway in search of a place to breed. Port Authority workers hustled to remove some 78 amorous turtles from the runway, piling them into a truck and returning them to the bay. The operation caused flights to be pushed back as long as 90 minutes at JFK and affected planes taking off from LaGuardia as well as air traffic control tried to get everyone back on schedule.
8. Toilet Trouble
Some wily passengers decided to test the suction ability of the toilets on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dhaka to London in August 2009, causing the trip to be delayed ten hours. Solid materials including bottles, cups and sanitary pads were tossed into all five of the airplane's toilets, causing a serious snag in the pneumatic system. The clogged toilets were fixed in just two hours, but the more than 200 passengers aboard the flight had to wait an additional eight more hours for takeoff due to a night flight ban at Heathrow airport.
7. Catfish Conundrum
Who knew that catfish can use their pectoral fins to go for a temporary stroll on land? Passengers and pilots aboard a Delta Airlines flight learned this troublesome lesson in biology in August 2008 when their jet was denied landing at Melbourne International Airport in Florida due to the presence of walking catfish on the runway. Marooned by high water from Tropical Storm Fay, the four fish were accompanied by two gopher tortoises, a blue indigo snake and an alligator. The approaching jet had to circle until the lively obstacles had been relocated to a nearby pond. Luckily for airport personnel, the gator is said to have slinked away to a drainage ditch all on its own.
6. Fight Attendants
Passengers aren't the only ones who get a little testy when an unforeseen delay hits. Two female flight attendants on a Delta Connection flight in February 2010 bound from Rochester to Atlanta were removed from duty pending an internal investigation after a fight between them compounded a flight delay. A sick passenger had already caused the plane to return to the gate before take-off, when the fight between the airline's employees broke out. The passengers were asked to deplane from the aircraft and were forced to take other flights to reach their destinations.
5. Over-Ambitious Employee
Bomb threats are a scary reality, but the one called in to an American Airlines flight in Miami in December 2009 was most unusual due to its motive. Claudia De La Rosa wanted to be sure that her boss, who was running late, would catch his flight to Honduras. Instead of just booking him on a later flight, she called and emailed officials at Miami International Airport with reports that a bomb had been planted. The flight was delayed as the aircraft and baggage were searched for explosives that did not exist. Hopefully the boss appreciated her efforts since De La Rosa was traced via IP address to her office, where she was promptly arrested.
4. Rabbits Doing Their Thing
Rabbits have a frisky reputation, but passengers at the airport in Milan, Italy, weren't prepared for those natural instincts to interfere with their scheduled flights. In June 2007 an excessive number of mating hares caused radar problems so severe that they halted takeoffs and landings. The 'hare delay' lasted a few hours, during which a capture plan was put into effect -- some 200 volunteers helped scare the creatures from their burrows into awaiting nets. The animals were then reportedly moved to a wildlife preserve to resume their activities.
3. Forgetful Passenger
Frequent flier John Discala (aka Johnny Jet) flies roughly 150,000 miles a year and has seen it all. But his oddest delay, he says, came at JFK Airport in September 2008, when his American Airlines flight was forced to return to the gate due to an upset passenger. "We taxied for about 45 minutes and we were just about to takeoff when we started back to the gate," he remembers. "I thought we burned too much fuel, but it turned out it was because a passenger realized he forgot his laptop in the terminal and started freaking out." Discala said the passenger would not listen to flight attendants and would not sit down, so the pilot made a decision to go back to the gate. After the passenger was removed from the plane, the flight was delayed even longer as his baggage was unloaded from the cargo hold.
2. Gold Fever
Hockey is serious business in Canada, especially when the nation's team was battling on home ice for an Olympic medal during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver passengers watching the final minutes of the Canada versus U.S. gold medal game on airport televisions ignored repeated pleas from gate agents to board their flight to Montreal. But it was well worth the wait, many fans would argue -- Canada beat its biggest rival 3-2 in an overtime thriller.
1. MIA Baby Pythons
Like something straight from a horror movie, a Qantas airplane missed two scheduled flights in April 2009 after it was discovered that four baby Stimson's pythons were unaccounted for following a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne, Australia. The non-venomous snakes were being transported in the plane's cargo hold and were thought to be safely packed inside a bag that was secured in a foam box. The plane was fumigated and returned to service, but passengers' minds were not exactly put at ease since the snakes were never found.
