Loose Mammals Cause Chaos On Vietjet Flight

Ott oh! Passengers onboard a Vietjet service from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) on Wednesday were shocked to discover an otter and a white marmot scurrying around the cabin, causing some in-flight mayhem.

Marmots on a plane?

As reported by local media, Vietjet flight VZ564 was thrown into chaos after a passenger spotted a rodent with “red eyes” near the toilets. Cabin crew members began searching the Airbus A320, where they discovered a baby otter asleep underneath a passenger’s seat.

In a video shared on social media, the otter can be seen rolling around on the cabin floor as startled passengers clambered onto their seats. Cabin crew members can then be seen attempting to capture the animal, placing it in a black bag as others look on, stunned.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, a passenger onboard the flight recounted the chaotic experience, noting how their travel partner spotted the marmoset, initially mistaking it for a large white rat.

“I told the cabin crew and they checked the plane. That’s when they found the big otter under one of the seats. They kept looking for the white rat and an employee caught the rat. It bit them on the hand while they carried it back to the kitchen at the back of the plane.”

Unfortunately, the discovery was not a cute case of mischievous wild animals accidentally finding their way onto the flight; upon arrival in Taiwan, an investigation by the Animal Inspection Bureau discovered a box containing 28 star tortoises, another otter, and two other rodents of unconfirmed species hidden away. The animals are believed to have been purchased at a market in Bangkok, Metro reports.

Photo: Suparat Chairatprasert / Shutterstock

The Bureau has since confiscated the reptile and mammalian menagerie, with the rodents and otters to be quarantined ahead of identification by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES). The tortoises are not subject to Taiwanese quarantine laws.

One passenger, identified by her surname Chen, is currently under investigation by Taiwan’s Animal Prosecution Office, though she has reportedly denied the claims. Chen faces a fine of up to NT$1 million ($31,000) under the country’s regulations on controlling infectious animal diseases if found guilty of smuggling the animals.

Similar incidents

Bangkok Airport has been the site of several notable smuggling incidents amid continued illegal demand for exotic and often endangered pets in recent years.

Photo: Milkovasa / Shutterstock.com

Between 2010 and 2020, over 14,000 live animals were confiscated by airport authorities, with up to 70% comprising endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises, according to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme and wildlife watchdog TRAFFIC.

In 2022, two women were arrested at the airport while attempting to smuggle 109 live animals from Bangkok to India in their luggage. Two white porcupines, two armadillos, 50 chameleons, 20 snakes, and 35 turtles are among the animals reported to have been confiscated by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The animals were relocated to wildlife rescue centers and breeding stations within the country.

Did Vietjet handle the incident well? Let us know in the comments.

Sources: Liberty Times, Taiwan News, The Daily Mail, Metro, ABC News, Traffic