The flight was supposed to take off from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Wednesday evening.
Delta said baggage handlers on the ground noticed the baboon tarantula wasn’t in its container. The captain was alerted and ordered the plane grounded in Baltimore. The plane was searched for additional tarantulas.
A spokesman for the airline said the tarantula wasn’t in the passenger cabin, nor were there any customers on the plane when the tarantula was discovered.
Passengers were taken off the plane, and they were moved to another flight, which departed three hours later.
Officials didn’t want to take any chances, and that’s why they decided to have the passengers exit the plane.
The spokesman said that safety and security was Delta’s top priority.
The tarantula was eventually caught, and the handler was contacted, as officials wanted to make sure that there were no other spiders in the cage.
No other tarantulas were found on the plane, and the tarantula that escaped from its carrier was eventually caught.
