A video filmed by passenger Tom Caw shows one of the birds flying through the cabin while a passenger tries to catch it with a jacket.
On Instagram, Caw shared the details of the incident along with the footage. “This is my video of it flying through the cabin. It was caught, and we returned to the gate. The pilot said that when he radioed the control tower about us coming back due to a pigeon, the guy said that was a first for him. Pilot told him it was the second time for him—the first being half an hour earlier,” he wrote.
“Another baggage handler boarded and removed it—still alive. My guess is the pigeons were tired of flying and wanted snacks. They didn’t know this flight to MSN is too short for Delta to offer beverage/snack service,” he added.
????️ Unusual passengers on board!
Two wild pigeons managed to board Delta Air Lines flight 2348 from Minneapolis to Madison — after all 119 passengers and five crew members were already on board.Passenger Tom Caw captured the moment on Instagram, showing the birds calmly roaming… pic.twitter.com/WX7lKFHQib– AIRNAV RADAR (@Airnavradar) May 28, 2025
As soon as the video was shared, the comments section quickly transformed into a mix of jokes and genuine concern. One user wrote, “I would have definitely been another screaming passenger.” Another remarked, “This is absolutely my worst nightmare.”
“New fear unlocked as though flying nowadays isn’t bad enough,” one person wrote. “Might as well let it fly with you all,” another commented.
The flight, carrying 119 passengers and five crew members, arrived in Madison 56 minutes later than expected, the airline confirmed.
Delta has also apologised to its customers for the disruption. In a statement, the airline said it “appreciates the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft prior to departure and we apologise to our customers for the delay in their travel.”
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
