Bees swarm plane on tarmac, leaving passengers trapped inside aircraft

Andrew Court
·2 min read
13

What a buzzkill.

Passengers at a Brazilian airport were left stranded on the tarmac for more than an hour on Monday after a swarm of bees covered the wing of their plane.

The Airline Voepass flight landed at Greater Natal International Airport just after 12:30 p.m., with those on board hoping to disembark via a set of external stairs onto the runway.

But a buzzing sound outside the plane soon startled passengers, who were ordered back into their seats.

“They began buzzing around the entire aircraft,” passenger Everton César told local media of the bees. “We were taken by surprise.”

César said the swarm “started landing on the plane’s windows,” causing crew members to fear what would happen if they let the passengers outside.

The bees refused to budge, and the pilot eventually had to call in the fire department for help.

“They began buzzing around the entire aircraft,” passenger Everton César told local media of the bees. “We were taken by surprise.” Jam Press
“They began buzzing around the entire aircraft,” passenger Everton César told local media of the bees. “We were taken by surprise.” Jam Press
The bees refused to budge, with the pilot eventually having to call in the fire department for help. Jam Press
The bees refused to budge, with the pilot eventually having to call in the fire department for help. Jam Press

“It took them some time to arrive, assess the situation, and figure out what to do,” César stated, adding that passengers were getting antsy about being trapped on board.

“Then, some of the bees settled on one of the plane’s wings, while the rest continued flying above the aircraft,” he continued. “There were many, and they wouldn’t leave the aircraft.”

After “quite a while,” the firefighters used an unidentified substance to remove the insects from around the plane.

Footage taken from the cabin shows a fireman spraying jets of liquid at the insects to knock them to the ground.

Passengers were finally able to disembark just before 2 p.m., almost 90 minutes after the plane touched down.

Footage taken from the cabin shows a fireman spraying jets of liquid at the insects to knock them to the ground. Jam Press Vid
Footage taken from the cabin shows a fireman spraying jets of liquid at the insects to knock them to the ground. Jam Press Vid
Passengers were finally able to disembark just before 2 pm, almost 90 minutes after the plane touched down. Jam Press Vid
Passengers were finally able to disembark just before 2 pm, almost 90 minutes after the plane touched down. Jam Press Vid

A spokesperson from Airline Voepass said it followed safety procedures “without any incidents, keeping the aircraft closed and air-conditioned”.

“After the removal of the bees, all passengers disembarked safely, the aircraft underwent maintenance, and then it was cleared for the next flight,” they added.