'Strong smell' of 100 live pigs in the cargo causes 26-hour flight diversion
Most air passengers rarely think about what’s stored in the cargo hold below, but passengers on a recent KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight were in for a surprise when the stench from live pigs caused a diversion.
Last Friday, flight KL685 was about midway through its journey from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Mexico City International Airport when "a strong smell caused by live animals (pigs) in the cargo hold reached the cockpit," the airline confirmed in an email statement to USA TODAY. Transporting live animals in the cargo – a pressure- and temperature-controlled space – is common for most major airlines, but KLM did not share why the pigs were being flown.
Following standard precaution, the captain diverted the flight to Bermuda, safely landing at L.F. Wade International Airport.
"The distinctive aroma of 100 pigs traveling in the cargo hold prompted the flight crew to divert to Bermuda for a fresh-air break as the smell had affected the cockpit environment," Bermuda Skyport Corporation Limited, parent company of the airport, said in a press release on Saturday.
The 259 passengers and crew were given hotel accommodations in the Caribbean island while the pigs were examined by a veterinarian, who concluded the animals were "in good health," according to the airline.
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"Meanwhile, the pigs – living high on the hog during their impromptu holiday stopover – are being cared for at a secure location on the island, with assistance from a government veterinarian," Skyport stated. The pigs were safely loaded, watered and fed while on the island.
In a Sunday video posted on Facebook by the airport, the pigs are shown being reboarded into cargo of a plane. "When your in-flight aromatherapy gets a bit too ham-bitious take a breather in (Bermuda)," the caption read.
"Our team at Skyport is accustomed to managing all sorts of unusual situations, and today was no exception," a Skyport spokesperson said in the release. "Thanks to excellent collaboration between KLM, Delta Air Lines, and local partners, both our two-legged and four-legged visitors are safe and well cared for – even if this wasn’t quite the Christmas vacation they had planned."
The flight departed Bermuda for Mexico City at 6:26 p.m. on Sunday and landed in Mexico about 26 hours after its scheduled arrival time.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight diverted due to 'strong smell' of 100 live pigs in the cargo
