Giant Rat Hitches Ride On KLM Flight Across Atlantic, Stranding Hundreds

I didn't know KLM had onboard chefs! Do they serve ratatouille?

Outrageous! KLM needs to apply pressure onto Amsterdam Airport Authority to have them clean up their airport building! They may need to get IATA and ICAO involved to help! This is DISGUSTING!

Is this a "organ-grinding monkey"?

Fortunately, the rat had his SkyTeam Elite Plus identification and got an upgrade and a Delft House.

Regarding EC261.

If bird strikes are applicable, then rats should be too.

PETA it self should claim EC261 on behalf and for the rat itself too.
Animal have rights too.

I really do not know how some people can add such silly comments to such a serious matter. Ben has rightly said it poses such a serious safety issue where they can nibble on wires and connections, which can be disastrous. Leave your silly comments to yourself and spare a thought for those who had ot suffer the ordeal.

Amsterdam has rats like NYC has rats .

The AeroB wannabe strikes again and the website administrators do nothing to stop it.
One could conclude that the website administrators, if not behind this common practice, then they surely condone it.

What is the phrase …. clicks = cents?

You forgot to end your sentences with “yes?”

Yes?

If you live in a city, rats are a fact of life…just like obnoxious tourists and noise. It wouldn’t have bothered me until you pointed out the chewing of the wires. That could be a problem but I’m hoping the airplane designers were smart enough to consider rats in a plane as a risk to the airworthiness of the ship.

Yu mean airplane, not ship.

Yes!

It was very remiss of me to forget to end my post with “Yes”. At least someone is awake and aware of the common practice. Well done Willy, 10/10 for you Sir.

But how many are seen in the lounes at JFK, LGA, and EWR?

nice reference

"As someone with a phobia of just about anything that crawls (well, other than babies)"

I should far sooner have a quiet rat in the cabin than a screaming baby.

The food is so bad on United, even the rats take European carriers instead?

It would appear that there are some people who are totally unaware that rodents eat electrical cable insulation. That being the case, one doubts that they are even remotely aware of the reason why.

Blame the EU numpties who a few decades ago persuaded the electric and electronic manufacturers worldwide to ditch PVC, ravin, etc, coated cables.

What the old coatings were replaced with is vegetable based sheathing. Is anyone surprised to read that rodents like eating vegetable based sheathing?

That's not a rat, it's just me!

Everyone is impressed by your intellect.

No. Take your snowflake attitude somewhere else if you can't stand it.

JFK is well-known for having a rat problem. As for not being in the lounges, if I can't figure out who gets into Greenwich, Soho, and Chelsea, I don't think the rats can either.

ummm, wait wait, let’s back up a min. So we’re just now hearing Ben saw 5 rats during a lounge visit, to which he gave it 4.5 stars in the review??? But no mention of the rats back in that review… OK, Ben, I have to ask, what other colorful details might you not be reporting 😉
Here is an article idea: Some of the horrible things that are so bad that when I do see it I don’t mention it 🙂
I know there have got to be at least a few!

Except… soy-based insulation is not used in aircraft. It is a staple of the automotive industry, but not used in commercial airliners.

So I guess we go back to the old days of flammable wiring coverings.

I agree. Ben - it would be good to know why your prior review failed to mention something like this.

I just went to the review, and I saw Lucky did mention it. Granted, in the review he says it was 5 mice not rats. And also says FRA might have bigger issues than AMS.

Over A rat ? I would’ve put it out of commission with a butter knife. To any woman out there who says they don’t need a man.

There Goes the meal for some poor Chinese/Vietnamese/Philippino. so sad!

There goes the meal of the meal for some poor Ohio immigrants. so sad!

oh hell, did i miss it?? my bad if so.
But I still stand by my article idea 🙂

If you as a blogger are aware of the serious rat problem at AMS airport, KLM as the primary domestic airline should definitely be aware and implement solutions. The only possible way to avoid compensation is to at least say they applied mitigating efforts but were unsuccessful.

But Ben, what about those of us with phobias about (other people's) babies??

Wow thats surprising , I don’t see any racist or disparaging comments against the Dutch?

Now imagine if this happened on an Air India flight…

As a New Yorker, just know whenever you see 1 rat, there are 5 more in hiding. eeeYuck!

Typical sick reply from a sick guy like you...as expected from ORD

Airplanes are airships.

Have you been a passenger at AMS lately? Observe the airport staff demographics very carefully...

It is such a great fact that one never suggested that Tim, yes?

Then how sad that they fail to acknowledge yours Rod, yes?

In centuries past, they hitched rides on ships taking them all over the world.
They hitch rides on planes, probably spaceships too.

Where we go, so goes the rodents.

At least the lantern flies weren’t so bad this year… and the sky didn’t turn orange like 2 years ago (eastern Canada wildfires).

The real concern is for long-haul business class passengers who may have not received their KLM delft blue house gift if the flight was not completed… a true loss!

What does People Eating Tasty Animals have to do with this… oh.

I killed a roach on a domestic once and the FA wanted me to clean it up. 'You're not just going to leave that there are you?'

There it is..

I thought the KLM Crown Lounges were famous for having mice, not rats.

Maybe some of the rats now switched loyalty from Air India to KLM, who sure serve food that is delightfully bland vs Air India's usual spice-forward chow 🙂