A dog whose escape from a plane caused the closure of two runways at France’s largest airport has been reunited with its owner after nine days, Air France said.
Authorities two runways closed Tuesday at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris as officials tried to capture the dog Amalka.
Since Amalka, a female, slipped out of a carrying cage during an unloading operation on November 19, there has been an intensive search for the pet, owned by an Austrian tourist who flew to France from Vienna on Air France.
“After several days of intensive searches, we are pleased to confirm that Amalka has been found and returned to her owner,” Air France said in a statement to AFP.
Airport police deployed a search drone on Tuesday, forcing the runways to be closed.
They chose the early afternoon off-peak hours for the operation, avoiding any impact on scheduled flights.
After the dog escaped, several searches were launched, including at night and in the presence of the owner, whose hotel costs at Charles de Gaulle were covered by Air France.
Posters were put up to warn airport staff.
The animal was eventually found in a park in Dammartin-en-Goele, a town close to the airport, according to the daily Le Parisien.
The newspaper posted a video of Amalka and her owner being reunited, with the pet happily wagging her tail as her owner hugged her.
“Both will soon be able to travel to their final destination,” Air France added.
With its four runways, Charles de Gaulle competes with Amsterdam’s Schiphol for first place as the busiest airport in the European Union.
In September 2023, a similar incident occurred at one of the busiest transit hubs in the US, when a Chihuahua mix named Maia escaped her aircraft carrier and ran onto an active runway at the Atlanta airport. The incident occurred while the dog was being transferred between Delta Air Lines and the airport after her owner was arrested for not having the proper documents to enter the US. Maia became eventually found by a good Samaritan after 22 days on the asphalt
