Pigeons On A Plane: Birds Invade Delta Airbus A220 Cabin, Cause Chaos

Airplanes are exposed to the elements and spend quite a bit of time on the ground, so it’s not totally unusual to see some wildlife make its way into the cabin. However, here’s something you don’t often see….

Two pigeons try to hitch ride on Delta aircraft

This incident happened on Saturday, May 24, 2025, and involves Delta Air Lines flight DL2348, scheduled to operate the 228-mile flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Madison (MSN). The flight was operated by an Airbus A220-300 with the registration code N310DU.

According to eyewitnesses, during the boarding process, one of the passengers told a flight attendant that there was a bird in the cabin of the plane. Shortly thereafter, the captain confirmed that this was the case, and maintenance was called, while the plane was still parked at the gate. A Delta employee managed to remove the pigeon from the plane, so the aircraft was then ready to depart.

However, as the plane taxied to the departure runway, a second pigeon made an appearance in the cabin as well. In a video posted online, a passenger can be seen trying to capture the pigeon with his jacket. The aircraft ended up returning to the gate, and a member of Delta’s maintenance staff again boarded the aircraft, to remove the pigeon.

The flight then ended up departing for a second time. While it was initially scheduled to depart at 10:20PM, it ended up taking off at 11:37PM, and then landed at 12:15AM, roughly an hour behind schedule. In a statement, Delta shared the following:

“Delta appreciates the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft prior to departure and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel.”

This is better than other wildlife, I guess?

While this certainly seems like an unpleasant situation, in the scheme of wildlife that makes its way into the aircraft cabin, this hardly seems like the worst. I’d take this over snakes on a plane, or rats on a plane, or bats on a plane, or bed bugs on a plane (okay, I’m not sure bed bugs constitute wildlife, but I digress).

For that matter, sometimes birds are intentionally transported in the cabin (and we’re not just talking about the former emotional support animal program in the United States). In the Middle East, it’s not unusual to see people traveling with their falcons. Heck, sometimes there are dozens of falcons in the cabin. It must be a bit unusual for other passengers, but it seems to work without too many issues.

And heck, at least the pigeons had good taste, choosing to fly Delta, for that world renowned premium experience. It’s just a shame they didn’t get to fly the new Airbus A350-1000.

Bottom line

Two pigeons somehow managed to get into the cabin of a Delta jet. What’s funny about this situation is that only one was discovered at first, so maintenance was called to remove it. Only after the plane was well into its taxi was it discovered that there was actually a second pigeon as well, and that’s why a return to the gate was required. Fortunately this was all handled well, and hopefully the pigeons were set free…

What do you make of this Delta cabin pigeon incident?