Mittens the cat was left in a plane's cargo hold. Unnoticed by the crew, Mittens continued on to Christchurch, New Zealand before the owner's complaints were heeded.
It was then that ground staff told Neas the plane had returned to New Zealand — with Mittens still on board. The return trip involves about 7.5 hours in the air. "I said, how can this happen? How can this happen? Oh my God," Neas said. The Air New Zealand pilot was told of the extra passenger during the flight and turned on the heating in the cargo hold to keep Mittens comfortable, she added. Neas was told that a stowed wheelchair had obscured a baggage handler's view of Mittens' cage.
If you knew how airline baggage handlers treated your luggage you'd pause before handing over a living thing to their care. But Mittens, 8, was reportedly fine. Air New Zealand "apologized for the distress caused," the Associated Press reports.
Previously:
• TSA will let you travel with a motorcycle airbag
• Air travel in ten years — the Freakonomic future
• All-electric planes like this could change regional air travel