It’s not every day that a flight is delayed because a bear escaped from a cargo container, but that’s exactly what happened on a recent Iraqi Airways flight.
Bear causes Iraqi Airways flight delay
This incident happened on Friday, August 4, 2023, and involves Iraqi Airways flight IA123 from Baghdad (BGW) to Dubai (DXB). The flight was operated by a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the registration code YI-ASM. The 2hr1min flight was totally routine, until after it landed in Dubai.
When ground workers began to unload the cargo hold of the Boeing 737, they discovered a bear roaming around freely. The good news is that the bear was supposed to be on the flight (so this wasn’t a case of an animal sneaking onto a plane, as we see every so often). The bad news is that the bear was supposed to be in a container, so it obviously managed to escape.
Below you can see a video of the cargo hold door just slightly open, and for some reason, a ground worker is even seen rubbing the bear’s head. Ummm, okay…
The return flight from Dubai to Baghdad ended up being delayed by nearly four hours due to this ordeal. The airline and authorities in the UAE had to coordinate to sedate and then remove the bear from the cargo hold safely. Furthermore, the cargo hold had to be inspected for any damage.
At least the bear didn’t manage to escape the cargo hold. Could you imagine the bear running around the apron of Dubai Airport? That would’ve made for quite a video. I mean, never mind that this was in the middle of the day in Dubai in August, where it’s unbearably hot.
Iraqi Airways apologizes, prime minister orders investigation
Iraqi Airways has apologized for this incident, though stops short of taking any accountability:
”The administration of the company apologizes to the dear travelers of the flight from Baghdad International Airport to Dubai Airport for reasons beyond the control of the company, regarding a shipment in the cargo hold (a bear).”
I think the first major question is how the bear escaped from its container. After all, a container like this should be locked and secured, so that the bear can’t easily break out. The airline claims the bear was being transported according to CITES and IATA standards.
The next major question is why exactly this bear was being transported. There are obviously lots of ethical questions people raise when it comes to transporting animals, and it seems like no one is publicly acknowledging the purpose of the bear’s trip, which makes you wonder.
Iraq’s prime minister has now even gotten involved, and has ordered an investigation into how the bear escaped from its crate.
Bottom line
Airlines carry all kinds of interesting cargo that you’d never think about as a passenger. Sometimes that includes bears. And apparently those bears sometimes escape from their crates in the cargo hold, creating quite a headache for ground workers at Dubai Airport late last week.
Fortunately no one was injured because of this incident, but it did cause a roughly four hour delay.
What do you make of this Iraqi Airways bear situation?
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