A Loganair flight departing from Stornoway delayed its take-off to let a baby hedgehog walk safely across the airport’s tarmac.
The sharp-eyed captain was slowly taxiing to the runway when he spotted the tiny animal in the Saab 340’s path.
He brought the aircraft to a halt and waited two minutes for the prickly creature to cross, alerting the 30 passengers on board about the unusual reason for the short delay in their journey to Inverness.
Pilots operating from Stornoway regularly scan the runway for wildlife, given the rural location of the Outer Hebridean island’s airport.
Neil Hughes, Loganair’s Director of Flight operations said: “The captain safely avoided a prickly situation for the little hedgehog, following procedure until the animal was off the tarmac.
“Our network extends into some of Scotland’s most remote communities so there are quite a few opportunities to see animals in the wild – and we’re always conscious to disturb them as little as possible.”
Roddy Macleod, who was a passenger on the flight said: “The plane was heading to the runway when it came to a sudden stop. After a short time the captain announced he has stopped to let a baby hedgehog cross over in front of him.
“A minute or two later I looked out my window to the left and here it was walking off the tarmac onto the grass.”