Iraqi Airways asked passengers to ‘bear with them’ during an incident which led to flight disruption at Dubai Airport.
A bear broke free from its crate in the cargo hold.
A specialist team was called to secure the bear.
The airline apologised to passengers for ‘circumstances beyond their control.’
The bear, loose in the cargo hold, had to be sedated before airport ground staff could offload passenger luggage of the just arrived flight.
It disrupted the scheduled Iraqi Airways return flight from Dubai to Baghdad by about four hours.
The airline said the bear was not in any danger and it had been transported under recognised international animal welfare guidelines.
