Cheetah delays Qantas jet's take-off

Melbourne, Dec 8 (ANI): Qantas passengers on a Melbourne to Adelaide flight were shocked to learn that a Cheetah had been behind the delay of their plane taking off.

The passengers were told the reason for the long wait was because cargo handlers had to take extra care with the wild cat in the cargo hold.

"We're sorry for delay, but we're having some problems loading the cheetah ... we have to do it very carefully," News.com.au quoted the captain of the flight as saying.

Bemused passengers then waited another half-an-hour before being told the cheetah was not cooperating.

The captain told passengers he was not happy with "safety", and announced the cheetah has been unloaded again, and Qantas would try to get the cat on a later flight.

The flight was delayed for more than 50 minutes before taking off for its original destination, and a Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the problem.

"It was just an issue with the type of pallet it was on," she said.

She said the handlers had technical problems with loading the pallet before the captain decided to take off without the special passenger. (ANI)