Tarantula delays flight from Baltimore to Atlanta: Spider on a plane?

An escaped tarantula delayed an Atlanta-bound Delta Air Lines flight at Baltimore/Washington International Airport on Wednesday evening.

Flight 1525 was supposed to take off from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport around 7 p.m. Wednesday, with it landing in at Hartsfield-Jackson International Atlanta Airport around 9 p.m.

According to Delta, baggage handlers on the ground noticed the baboon tarantula out of its carrier container. The captain ordered the plane grounded in Baltimore overnight to be searched for any additional arachnids.

“It was not in the passenger cabin and customers were not on the aircraft when the tarantula was discovered,” said Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant in a statement.

The captain told passengers about what was going on and let them off to switch planes.

“(The) Flight crew made the decision to fly to Atlanta on another aircraft out of an abundance of caution and the Captain explained the situation to our customers,” Durrant said.

The flight was delayed about three hours in total Wednesday.

Agencies/Canadajournal