Monarto Safari Park cheetah from Perth

[Chlidonias]

Cheetah holds up Qantas plane - oddstuff | Stuff.co.nz

Qantas passengers have experienced their fair share of delays in the past month as the airline grappled with a string of technical problems.

But an announcement explaining a tardy take-off at Melbourne Airport this morning caught more than one traveller by surprise.

"We're sorry for the delay, but we're having some problems loading the cheetah," the pilot told passengers on board QF675 as it sat on the tarmac this morning.

Ground staff were finding it difficult to load the animal onto the scheduled 8.10am flight for its journey to Adelaide, where it would be transported to the city's Monarto Zoo.

The cheetah had been picked up from Perth Zoo and flown to Melbourne, where ground staff and the cheetah's handlers encountered problems loading the pallet.

The aircraft was delayed for about 50 minutes before staff decided the animal would catch a later flight.

"I guess it's an unusual PA announcement to hear, but rest assured our ground staff are very well-trained to deal with this sort of thing," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

"We do many shipments of animals each year. We've transported things like Tasmanian devils, fairy penguins, gorillas, all kinds of animals, so it is a very standard practice for us."

She said the cheetah was loaded without problem on to the next flight, QF679, for the journey to Adelaide.

 

[jay]

Ib=nteresting. I'd love to know more about which cheetah it was,

 

[Chlidonias]

here you go jay:
'Sorry for the delay we're having problems loading the cheetah' | News.com.au

LATE luggage, bad weather and difficult passengers are common causes for a delayed flight.

But customers onboard a Qantas flight today had an unusual reason for their late flight - a troublesome cheetah.

Passengers on board the 8.10am Melbourne to Adelaide flight were delayed for 40 minutes as cargo handlers struggled and finally gave up loading cheetah Tokoloshe in the hold of the plane.

Tokoloshe was heading back to her birthplace Monarto Zoo after spending five years at Perth Zoo having been separated from her brothers Skukusa, Askari and Totsie.

Passengers were stunned as the captain explained why their plane was still sitting on the tarmac well after their scheduled departure time.

"We're sorry for delay, but we're having some problems loading the cheetah ... we have to do it very carefully," the captain said.

Bemused passengers then waited another half-an-hour before being told the cheetah was not cooperating.

The captain told passengers he was not happy with "safety", and announced the cheetah had been unloaded again, and Qantas would try to get the cat on a later flight.

The flight was delayed 40 minutes before taking off for its original destination.

Tokoloshe, who is one of eight cubs born at Monarto Zoo, was put on another plane before arriving at the zoo about 2pm.