A cat made three flights between New Zealand and Australia within 24 hours after she was left on a plane mistakenly.
Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia, on January 13, news agency AP reported.
After the owner, Margo Neas, waited for her to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area for three hours, she still couldn’t find her. She was then told by the ground staff that the plane had returned to New Zealand with Mittens still on the plane.
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Neas told NBC on Wednesday (Jan 22), “They said: 'Look, we have located your cat - but it's actually on the return flight to Christchurch…”
Mittens’ cage was accidentally left in the Air New Zealand aircraft's cargo hold, after which she travelled on the return flight for about 7.5 hours to reunite with her owner, covering about 4,500 miles during the three trips in total.
“I said, how can this happen? How can this happen? Oh my God,” said Neas.
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The Air New Zealand pilot was informed of the extra furry passenger onboard and turned on the heating in the cargo area to keep Mittens comfortable. The staff told Neas that a stowed wheelchair had blocked the view of Mittens’ cage from the baggage handler who was unloading the cargo.
“It was not a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have the family, we weren’t complete,” Neas said.
Airlines respond to the mishap
Air New Zealand apologised for the distress caused. The airline also said in a statement that they would reimburse all costs related to Mittens’ travel.
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“We’ll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” spokesperson Alisha Armstrong said.
‘Biggest cuddles’ after back home
The pet moving company that arranged Mittens’ travel checked on the cat on her return to Christchurch and made sure she was back on the flight to Melbourne.
Mittens had lost some weight but was not harmed otherwise.
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Mittens, who is usually not an affectionate pet, has been “the cuddliest she’s ever been,” said Neas.
“She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time,” Neas said. “It was just such a relief.”
“The cat gets as much attention as she wants right now because we’re just so absolutely and utterly relieved to have her back,” she added.
(With inputs from agencies)