Pigeon Causes Chaos on Plane After Boarding Newark Flight

A pigeon wreaked havoc on a plane departing from Newark after the stowaway caused delays of "an hour" on a flight to Europe.

Flight attendant Arina Bloom filmed the rogue bird on board the aircraft, set to depart Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Bloom, based in New York, shared a clip to TikTok as the flight to Greece ground to a halt.

She uploaded a video to the site on Sunday, saying: "If you wonder why your flight from Newark to Greece was one hour delayed. Hi there. The moment we lost him. Everyone's looking. Opened doors maybe he will fly away. We lost him. We are flying to Greece with a bird. Didn't find him upon arrival either."

The clip, which can be seen here, has been viewed 1.5 million times, and shows Bloom filming the bird standing in the food preparation area of the plane. It then saunters into the cabin, before the next shot shows it disappearing behind a row of seats.

Chaotic scenes show cabin crew desperately searching for the pigeon, with one person on the floor looking underneath the seats. While one of her colleagues walks down the aisle, banging each overhead locker as he goes.

Bloom, who's believed to work for United Airlines, then films the open door which is cordoned off with some tape, before she cuts to herself shaking her head.

People were desperate to know the fate of the feathery friend, and Bloom provided updates in the comments, confirming the bird was never found.

She theorized there were three possible outcomes, saying: "1. He left the plane in Newark. 2. He flew to Greece. 3. He might still be on the plane."

After deciding to get underway, the air hostess said they informed the passengers of the reason for the delay—and warned them the unwanted guest may still be aboard.

"We literally made an announcement if you see a bird, ring a call button," she said. Bloom joked: "We literally asked Greek people if they have pigeons to make sure he will have friends."

Responding to people asking why she didn't catch the bird, instead of filming it, she said: "Oh hell no I'm not touching any bird I'm scared."

Referencing reasons for delays, she added that "only once in a while there's a bird," adding the crew "did not have a plan."

Numerous people found the stowaway hilarious, with Picante saying: "That bird caught a free flight like it doesn't have wings already."

"And people say pigeons 'do not migrate,'" Nedm219 pointed out.

Ruxi thought: "That pigeon will never see his friends or family again."

Andrysek222 quipped: "This pigeon has traveled more than me."

Sslasherr reckoned: "My flight got delayed because of a bird? Now the wait was worth it."

Although Mania wrote: "Imagine flying with this bird to Australia, you would have destroyed their entire wildlife."

John Sad commented: "He just wants a vacation to Greece."

While Bloom didn't confirm which flight the bird gate-crashed, details from website Flightstats shows the United Airlines flight from Newark to Athens was delayed by one hour three minutes on Saturday.

Newsweek reached out to Bloom and United Airlines for comment.