Bird sparks a flap on 12 hr Singapore to London flight

A bird caused a flap on a Singapore to London flight after it suddenly appeared in the plane’s business class section 12 hours into the journey, an airline said yesterday. A video circulating on social media showed the bird perched on top of a headrest, about two hours before the flight was due to arrive in the British capital.

An initial attempt by a member of cabin crew on the Singapore Airlines flight to catch the creature failed -- prompting some of the passengers to join the hunt. “It was subsequently caught by cabin crew with the assistance of some of the passengers on board and handed over to authorities in charge of animal quarantine upon the aircraft’s arrival in London,” the airline said in a statement. The statement did not say how the stowaway was able to sneak on to Flight SQ322 on January 7.

But the animal -- reported to be a myna, a dark brown bird native to southern Asia -- made the journey without paying the hefty price tag. According to Singapore Airlines’ website, a return flight to London from the city-state in business class costs around Sg$6,000 ($4,400).