Closed runways, drones, searches… The disappearance of a dog wreaks havoc at Charles-de-Gaulle airport

Two runways at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport were closed Tuesday afternoon to catch a dog who escaped from a plane, without impact on air traffic, AFP learned from Air France and an airport source. “On November 19, a dog managed to escape from its transport cage during unloading operations.» of a flight from Vienna taken by his mistress, a tourist, Air France reported.

Since then, a “plan d’action» was implemented across the entire airport platform and intensified on Tuesday. “An exceptional system was deployed with the use by the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA) of a drone to locate the animal, requiring the closure of the southern runways of Paris-Charles de Gaulle during the intervention.», Indicates the airline. Concretely, half of the runways of this international hub are condemned for the duration of this operation which began at 2:30 p.m., according to an airport source. Air traffic, during off-peak periods, is not affected, assured this same source.

«The animal has been seen and approached on several occasions but so far it has not been possible to capture it.», added Air France. According to the airport source, the authorities are trying to reach the animal with a hypodermic syringe to capture it. “Regular searches are organized in the presence of the customer (including at night) and displays have been installed in several areas to make airport staff aware of this situation.», assures the airline which covers the dog owner’s stay in Roissy.