Passengers were given a mid-air fright after a giant albino rat and an otter escaped from a traveller’s hand luggage and began roaming about the plane cabin on a VietJet recent flight.

Shocked fliers saw staff on board attempt to catch the animals after they were discovered on the three-hour journey between Bangkok, Thailand and Taipei, Taiwan, reports The Telegraph.

“I walked back from the toilet and my friend whispered softly to me ‘there’s a rat on the plane’,” according to a post of Facebook from someone claiming to be on the flight. “I was confused so he said again ‘pet rat, pet rat, it has a white body and it’s not small’.

“I told the cabin crew and they checked the plane. That’s when they found the…otter under one of the seats. They kept looking for the white rat and an employee caught the rat. It bit them on the hand while they carried it back to the kitchen at the back of the plane.”

Officials from Taiwan’s animal and plant health inspection agency searched every bag on the plane once the aircraft landed at Taoyuan International Airport – where they uncovered yet more animals.

One marmot, two otters, 28 star turtles and two unidentified rodents were found, apparently smuggled by a Chinese passenger who was described as “not co-operative” by officials. She now faces a fine of up to £25,000 under regulations relating to the control and prevention of infectious disease.

It’s unclear how the woman managed to smuggle the critters through security at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport but it’s not the first time it has been attempted. In the first half of last year, more than 1,000 smuggled wild animals were identified in the Bangkok aviation hub, according to a report.

In June 2022, two women were arrested in Bangkok after attempting to board a flight with 100 live, endangered animals in their luggage, including two armadillos, two porcupines, 50 chameleons, 35 turtles and 20 snakes.

Later the same year, an American man was caught trying to smuggle a live albino alligator onto a flight in his suitcase.

The unnamed 42-year-old passenger was attempting to travel from Munich, Germany to Singapore when he was apprehended with the reptile.

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