Spirit Airlines Passengers Spot ‘Super Rat’ Scurrying Around in Plane Cabin's Ceiling Light Mid-Flight

Mar. 15, 2025

Spirit Airlines plane (left) and an image of a rat (right).Photo:Boarding1Now/Getty; Nicola Warburton/Getty

Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 airplane at Fort Lauderdale airport (FLL) in the United States.; Sat upon a log in the summer sunshine at a Nature Reserve in Staffordshire UK.

Boarding1Now/Getty; Nicola Warburton/Getty

Spirit Airlines passengers were in for quite a surprise when they realized a creature was hitchhiking on their flight!

In the video, the outline of what appears to be a large rodent’s front paws can be seen through the glass paneling on the ceiling of the cabin. The animal then seems to sniff something before turning its body to scurry away.

“Super rat!” a passenger can be heard saying in the background.

PEOPLE has reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.

Spirit Airlines plane.Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Spirit Airlines

Others poked fun at the situation and noted that the creature must be very well traveled

“He’s probably been all over the world,” a user joked. “Been more places than 90% of us,” added another.

A snake slithering outside.Getty

Pet Snake That Had Been Missing for a Year Was Reunited with Its Owner After Being Dropped into a Garden by a Crow

Getty

This isn’t the first time a wild creature has hitched a ride on an airplane.

In October 2022, agarden snake was spottedon the floor of a United Airlines plane that was heading to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport from Tampa, Fla.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Once the aircraft landed and started taxiing on the runway, “passengers in business class started shrieking and pulling their feet up,” one traveler who was on the flight recalled toNews 12 New Jersey.

After being notified of the snake’s presence, police and operations employees met the plane at the gate and quickly worked to remove the reptile, United confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement at the time.

source: people.com