What a buzz! Two hives of bees cause panic on a plane mid-air

PA

Passengers on an internal flight in Russia got an unpleasant surprise when two hives of bees smuggled onto the plane escaped - mid-air.

The bees - which were carried on in cardboard boxes - are thought to have become agitated in the pressurised cabin on the 10-hour Yakutia Airline flight to Moscow from Blagoveshchensk, and managed to break free.

Quick-thinking air hostesses on the flight managed to round the bees up in a wardrobe in business class by sealing it with sticky tape.

Unfortunately, when the plane then arrived at is next destination, Barcelona, the new crew discovered there were still five bees on board.

Now Yakuta Airlines could be 'stung' with a massive £100,000 bill for fumigation of the Boeing 757, and to compensate for delays caused to the plane's forwarding destination, Spain.

The trafficker has since made a claim that an airport official at Blagoveshchensk asked him to carry the boxes to Moscow, where he would then be met at the airport.

This has reignited issues surrounding the integrity of Russian internal flight airport officials, who are historically known for being rather lax when vetting on-board luggage.

Read more at telegraph.co.uk