...Mittens, eight, was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on 13 January. Her owner, Margo Neas, said on Wednesday that she waited for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area, but three hours passed with no sign of the cat.

It was then that ground staff told Neas the plane had returned to New Zealand – with Mittens still onboard. The return trip takes about seven and a half hours...

The Air New Zealand pilot was told of the extra passenger during the flight and turned on the heating in the cargo hold to keep Mittens comfortable, she added. Neas was told that a stowed wheelchair had obscured a baggage handler’s view of Mittens’s cage...

Meanwhile, Mittens, not usually an affectionate pet, was “the cuddliest she’s ever been”, said Neas. “The cat gets as much attention as she wants right now because we’re just so absolutely and utterly relieved to have her back.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/22/mittens-maine-coon-cat-new-zealand-australia-left-on-plane