Passengers onboard a British Airways flight were given a scare after a scorpion ended up on the loose in the cabin. Cabin crew moved passengers to safety and searched for the scorpion, but it was not found.

Scorpion hitches ride on BA flight

As reported by LBC, the British Airways flight from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) was traveling with the arachnid stowaway to the shock of passengers after it emerged in the cabin. One passenger - Luke Taylor, 25 - told LBC he first realized something was wrong when several fellow passengers began standing up, but initially assumed they intended to use the lavatory.

Taylor said,

"I was sitting in the middle rows, and then on the right-hand side, like six people got up on the right-hand side. I just thought they were going to the toilet before the message came on to put the seatbelts on for landing."

British Airways Airbus A350-1041 G-XWBI-1
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

However, it soon became apparent that something was wrong and word spread that a scorpion was on the loose. The incident occurred around 45 minutes prior to the flight's scheduled arrival - travelers sitting in the general area where the scorpion was spotted were moved to other empty seats around the aircraft for their safety. Fortunately, no passengers were injured during the scare and the flight touched down safely in London.

British Airways said in a statement,

"The safety of our customers is our highest priority, and we’re sorry for any concern caused by this highly unusual event."

Cabin crew search unsuccessful

Cabin crew conducted a midair hunt for the potentially dangerous scorpion but to no avail. According to Taylor, one of the cabin crew who had spotted the scorpion remarked "that's not like any scorpion I've seen in Texas," adding that "the only two people who saw it was that guy, and a woman that was sitting on his row."

Taylor said,

"The cabin crew were trying to search for it for about half an hour. They couldn't find it, and they had to move everyone in that area to empty seats scattered across the plane."

British Airways 777 economy cabin
Photo: EQRoy/Shutterstock

So was there a scorpion onboard or were a couple of people seeing things? It seems more likely that there was a scorpion, particularly given the flight's origin from Texas where scorpions are commonplace (over 20 species) - according to Austin-based pest control service EnviroGuard, the two most prevalent species of scorpion found in Austin are the striped bark scorpion and the Texas cave scorpion, both of which are mildly venomous but not a mortal threat to humans.

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Not the first time

It's understandable that small creatures like scorpions can sneak their way onto aircraft on rare occasions. A look back reveals multiple incidents involving scorpions onboard flights - one of the most publicized incidents occurred in 2019 when a woman was stung by a scorpion on a United Airlines flight after it crawled up her trouser leg.

A GOL passenger suffered a similar experience in January 2021 after a scorpion fell onto his shoulder during a flight and stung his finger, as did a student flying with Air Transat from Toronto to Calgary in February 2019 after a scorpion crawled up her lower back and stung her.

Have you ever experienced a similar incident onboard a flight? Let us know your stories in the comment section.

Source: LBC, EnviroGuard

  • British Airways Tile
    British Airways
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    BA/BAW
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport
    Year Founded:
    1974
    Alliance:
    oneworld
    Airline Group:
    IAG
    CEO:
    Sean Doyle
    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Loyalty Program:
    British Airways Executive Club
    Region:
    Europe