Stinking pigs in the cargo hold forced a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Mexico to make an unscheduled stopover in Bermuda.
Halfway through the flight last Friday, a strong smell spread through the cockpit of flight KL685, coming from pigs in the cargo hold, said a spokesperson for the Dutch airline KLM on Monday.
As a precaution, the captain made a stopover in Bermuda, a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic. The passengers and crew were accommodated in nearby hotels and flown to Mexico City the next day.
After being examined by a veterinarian, the pigs were brought to Mexico safely on another flight a day later.
The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, which cited the Bermuda aviation authorities, reported that 100 pigs and 259 passengers were travelling on the flight.
While the passengers were accommodated in hotels, the pigs were taken to a suitable location on the island. “We take care of all passengers, whether they are on two or four legs,” the newspaper quoted a Bermuda government official as saying.
