Giant tarantula crawls up passenger's leg on Air Transat flight

A passenger has spoken of the moment she was watching a film on a flight to Montreal when she felt a tarantula climb up her leg.

Catherine Moreau was travelling from the Dominican Republic with Air Transat when she noticed the creature.

SEE ALSO: 200 live tarantulas found in suitcase at Dutch airport

SEE ALSO: UK spider bite pensioner to have part of finger amputated

Speaking to CBC News, she said after feeling it brush against her skin, she "brushed [it] away and it started tickling me again."

Moreau added: "I hit it to get it off me before it bit."

The tarantula was one of two on the flight, which sent passengers screaming and standing on their seats.

Julie Roberts, vice-president of Air Transat's flight attendant union, said cabin crew "did what they could to calm people down."

Moreau was given first aid and passengers were asked to put on their shoes and cover their ankles.

She is now asking for a partial refund for the four tickets she bought for her family after she suffered a scratch and her daughter was left in shock and has nightmares.

Catherine claims Air Transat staff stopped her from taking a photo of the tarantula to later identify it and have not contacted her with a report to confirm the species.

Étienne Normandin, an entomologist at the University of Montreal, said the spiders were most likely of the Phormictopus cancerides species, which is "very common in the Dominican Republic and Haiti".

He said it is "aggressive, but the venom is not strong."