A cat will take three flights in 24 hours after boarding the plane.
A cat made three flights between New Zealand and Australia in 24 hours.
Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was scheduled to fly from Christchurch to Melbourne on January 12 – but her kennel was left in the cargo hold of an Air New Zealand plane.
After waiting for Mittens for three hours at Melbourne Airport, owner Margo Neas was told by ground staff that the plane was returning to New Zealand with her pet.
During that flight, the heater was on to keep the cat comfortable, Ms Nyas said. The pet – emaciated but unharmed – was later flown back to Melbourne to be reunited with her owner.
Speaking to NBC on Wednesday, Ms Nyas said she and her son had been told about the tragedy by ground staff at the airport in Melbourne.
“Look, we’ve got your cat – but it’s on the flight back to Christchurch… they said.”
“And I said, ‘When did you know the cat didn’t get off the plane?’ And they said, ‘We just found out.’ I told him.
Ms Nias said the pilot had been warned in advance to turn on the heater in the hold, where temperatures could reach 7C.
Air New Zealand is still looking into how the mittens were forgotten, but reports suggest a stowed wheelchair may have obscured the baggage handler’s view of the cabin.
The airline apologized for the inconvenience and promised to refund all travel expenses.
The company does not accept live pet registrations from the public for international flights, so passengers must book through approved pet carriers.
Ms Nyas said she was relieved to finally meet Mittens.
“She basically just ran right into my arms and got in here and got in here and did the biggest crush of all time,” she said, according to the AP news agency on Wednesday. “It was such a relief.”
“It wasn’t a good start to our new life in Melbourne because we didn’t have a family and we weren’t whole,” added Ms Nias, who had already decided to move to Australia.
A one-way flight time between Christchurch and Melbourne usually takes less than four hours.