A rodent has caused havoc at Sri Lanka’s flag carrier, forcing a plane to be grounded for days.
The stowaway rat was spotted on a SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330 which flew from Lahore to Colombo.
It led to an aircraft search. The rat was eventually found dead.
“The aircraft was grounded for three days at Colombo,” an airline official said.
“The plane could not be flown without making sure that the rat was accounted for. It was found dead.”
The rat incident apparently caused a knock-on effect with delays across its fleet.
The state-owned airline has big debts and is seeking financial backers.
Aviation minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the rat might scare off ‘the few investors’ interested in taking over the airline.
The airline has been up for sale for years.
Even an offer of $1 to take on its debts got no takers.
