Woman arrested for sneaking pet sugar glider on flight in Shanghai

A 34-year-old woman was arrested for illegally taking a pet sugar glider onto a commercial flight in Shanghai on Monday. 

The pet was captured after escaping its owner and the incident caused a flight delay, Shanghai police said on their Weibo account on Tuesday.

The police said the passenger surnamed Guo has been put under administrative detention for "disturbing the order of public transport system."

The incident came to light after a person posted a video online claiming that passengers of Jinan-bound flight MU5599 had to leave the plane and wait for the flight to clear after a "hamster" was found in the cabin.

The video, allegedly filmed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, shows passengers complaining at the check-in counter. Another scene showed people kneeling on the floor inside a flight cabin appearing to be looking for something under the chairs.

"Hamsters are the best at hiding and like to chew on things. The plane could be in trouble if they chew through the wires or block some pipes on the plane," a netizen wrote after Shanghai police's statement.

The airport did not disclose specific details of this incident, while the Chinese media are casting doubts on the airport's security. 

The Beijing News, a news outlet based in the Chinese capital of Beijing, said in an article on Wednesday that the airport security detectors are meant to detect metal objects when a passengers goes through it. If the alarm didn't go off, the inspectors could choose not to manually inspect the body of the passenger. It could explain how the pet could be sneaked in.

Are pets allowed on commercial flights?

Currently, Air China, China Southern Airlines (CSAIR), China Eastern Airlines and other airlines specify that only guide dogs, special companions and other animals stipulated by national laws can enter the cabin.

According to China Southern Airlines, animals that cannot be transported as baggage include very small animals such as mice or ornamental fish, extremely large animals whose cage size exceeds the maximum volume limitation, animals that may pose risks to transportation, wild animals, creatures with a repulsive appearance, and offensive animals such as snakes.

For the pets allowed on board, the passengers need to consign them at least 24 hours before departure for domestic flight or 48 hours for international flight and get an approval from CSAIR in advance. Later on, passengers can take their small animals to the airport for check-in 120 minutes before their flight departure time, and they must present an animal quarantine certificate from a quarantine department at county or regional level or above.