A wandering turtle forced Narita Airport to temporarily shut down its runway on Friday, causing five flights to be delayed, including an All Nippon Airways plane featuring a sea turtle-themed livery.
The pilot of an aircraft waiting for takeoff reported the turtle on the runway to air traffic controllers at around 11:35 a.m.
The runway was shut down for 12 minutes as airport staff searched for and caught the reptile.
The turtle, measuring about 30 centimeters in length and weighing about 2.1 kilograms, was walking across the runway, according to Narita International Airport Corp.
Sometimes, runways are forced to close because of aircraft parts or birds, but it's rare to find small animals, the company said.
According to the Narita Aviation District Weather Bureau, Friday was a sunny day with a high of 28.7 C, which was 3.5 C warmer than the average.
"The turtle might have crawled out of the reservoir near the runway to sunbathe since the weather has been warm the past few days," an airport official said.
Soon after the turtle's safe capture, ANA's A380 superjumbo jet "Flying Honu," popularly known as a flying sea turtle, took off.
"In Hawaii, sea turtles are believed to bring good luck," an ANA official said. "It might be a sign of a bright future."
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