Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has said one of its flights had to make an emergency landing after a mouse scurried out of a passenger’s in-flight meal on Wednesday.

The plane was travelling from Norway’s capital Oslo to the Spanish city Malaga and was forced to make an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The diversion was in line with company procedures as the furry stowaway posed a safety risk, airline spokesperson Oystein Schmidt told the AFP news agency.

Passengers on the flight were later flown to Malaga on a different aircraft.

Airlines usually have strict restrictions involving rodents on board planes in order to prevent electrical wiring being chewed through.

“Believe it or not. A lady next to me here at SAS opened the food and out jumped a mouse. Now we have turned around and landed at CPH [Copenhagen Airport} for flight changes,” one passenger, Jarle Borrestad, wrote on Facebook.

He posted the comment alongside laughing emojis and a photo of him smiling while sat next to two women.

“This is something that happens extremely rarely,” Mr Schmidt said.

“We have established procedures for such situations, which also include a review with our suppliers to ensure this does not happen again.”

It is the second rodent-related travel incident in a week.

A train service in southern England had to be terminated mid-journey after two squirrels boarded a carriage and one refused to get off.