A cat made three flights between New Zealand and Australia in just 24 hours after being forgotten on a plane.
Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne on January 12 – but her cage was left in the hold of an Air New Zealand plane.
After waiting three hours for Mittens at Melbourne Airport, owner Margo Neas was told by ground staff that the plane had already returned to New Zealand with her pet.
During that flight, the heating was on to keep the cat comfortable, Ms Neas said. The pet – who had lost weight but was otherwise unharmed – was later flown back to Melbourne to be reunited with his owner.
Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Neas said she and her son were informed of the crash by Melbourne airport staff.
“They said, ‘Look, we’ve located your cat – but it’s actually on a return flight to Christchurch…’
“And I said, ‘When did you find out the cat wasn’t taken off the plane?’ And they said: ‘We have only now discovered.’ And I said, ‘How can that happen?'”
Ms Neas said she was told the pilot had already been warned to turn on the heating in the cargo hold where the temperature could be as low as 7C.
The incident is still under investigation, but reports say a stowed wheelchair may have obscured a baggage handler’s view of Mittens’ cage.
Air New Zealand apologized for the trouble caused, promising to reimburse all travel expenses.
The company does not accept direct bookings of animals from the public for international flights, so passengers must book through approved pet carriers.
Ms Neas said she was relieved to finally be reunited with Mitten.
“She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled in here and just had the biggest cuddle of all time,” the AP news agency quoted him as saying on Wednesday. – It was such a relief.
Ms Neas, who had previously decided to move to Australia, added: “It wasn’t a great start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have a family, we weren’t complete.”
A one-way flight between Christchurch and Melbourne usually takes less than four hours.
