The desire to fly for the cheapest fare possible seemingly transcends species. Ryanair canceled a flight in Rome, Italy last week after a stray cat climbed into the aircraft’s avionics bay. The low-cost Irish carrier was forced to ground the Boeing 737 for two days until the feline squatter decided to leave the plane. The cat presumably refused to pay to check its carry-on luggage after a flight attendant claimed it was oversized.
The cat sneaked onto the Ryanair jet after it arrived from Barcelona and was boarding passengers for its next flight to Germany, according to Simple Flying. The crew noticed their feline stowaway when they heard meowing sounds coming from underneath the floor. The maintenance staff tried to retrieve the cat, removing several internal panels, but ultimately failed to apprehend the stowaway stray. A photo shared by FL360 showed the cat deep in the avionics compartment behind the aircraft control cables.
The flight was understandably canceled. No pilot would want to take off with a cat crammed into the avionics bay. The compartment is filled with electronic and mechanical equipment vital for safely flying the plane, from the previous-mentioned control cables to the radar and communications equipment. It would only take a single angry outburst for our feline friend to severely compromise the plane or down the aircraft.
Two days later, the cat finally decided to deplane. I guess someone was frustrated with the lack of meal service. The Ryanair plane was then brought back into service and departed Rome from Memmingen Airport in Germany.
This isn’t the first time a cat has tried to hitch a free ride on an airliner. In November 2022, a cat sneaked inside luggage, attempting to go on a surprise Thanksgiving trip with its owner’s roommate. The stowaway could hide from its loved one but not an X-ray machine at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Cats might be natural-born killers, but they need to work on their stowaway skills.