Wild animals on runway cause flight chaos in Spain

Wild boars disrupted flight operations in Spain after they entered an airport runway, leading to its temporary closure.

Two flights were forced to divert their routes as a result of the wildlife incident at A Coruña Airport on Saturday morning.

A number of wild boars entered the runway space which, according to airport operator Aena, led to some early morning flights being altered. 

Two incoming flights were diverted to Santiago de Compostela Airport.

An Iberia flight from Madrid and an easyJet flight from Milan were also affected. 

Passengers on the Madrid flight stayed on the tarmac in Santiago for more than an hour.

The pilot reportedly announced: ‘Sorry, I regret having to bring you to Santiago.’

Two outbound flights were also delayed – an Air Europa service to Madrid and a Vueling flight to Barcelona.

Two flights were forced to divert their routes as a result of a wildlife incident at A Coruña Airport on Saturday morning 

The airport stayed closed for nearly two hours until the boars were expelled, around 11am. 

The diverted flights later returned and landed in A Coruña.

However, the knock-on effect caused further delays, Euro Weekly News reported.

It is unclear how the animals entered the airport area.

It’s not the first time such a bizarre animal-related incident has caused havoc at an airport.

An Indian passenger plane was once badly damaged after it struck a wild boar which was running across the runway moments after the aircraft touched down.  

The de Havilland Dash 8 was arriving at Dumna airport in Jabalpur with 49 passengers and four crew when a herd of wild boar entered the runway.

Instances of animals on the runway are not totally unheard of. 

Wild boars invaded the runway at the airport, causing flight chaos for many passengers

For example, creatures such as musk ox, caribou and moose often cross the tarmac in Alaska.

Meanwhile, Florida often sees alligators on its runways. 

Plus, in 2015, Spain’s airport authority says a wild boar broke through a fence at Madrid’s international airport.

As a result, runways were briefly closed and two landings were delayed.