Mouse on a plane: China Eastern aircraft diverted after mouse found on board

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft from Shanghai to Xinjiang was diverted to Lanzhou on September 5 after a mouse was found on the plane, according to a report by Xinmin Evening News on Wednesday.

A passenger said that the fight, MU6219, took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 7:20am that day but made an unscheduled landing at Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport halfway through, according to the report.

Passengers were informed that it was due to "aircraft inspection and quarantine issues." All passengers were transferred to another flight and landed at Kashi Laining International Airport at 6:40pm.

According to the report, on September 11, a staff member at the 12320 Health Hotline in Gansu Province revealed that the reason for the flight diversion was the presence of a mouse on the flight.

"After the landing, the airline company caught the mouse and disinfected the flight. The mouse was identified as a house mouse."

The process of catching the mouse and related action also caused a more than five hour delay of follow-up flight, MU6220, which was originally scheduled to depart from Kashgar to Shanghai at 2:20pm on September 5, a passenger on MU6220 said in the report.