A baggage handler didn't spot Mittens' cage when it was blocked by a wheelchair on arrival in Melbourne Mittens the cat has clocked up lots of extra air miles after mistakenly flying between New Zealand and Australia three times in 24 hours.

A Maine coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter this month when her cage was overlooked in a plane cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.

The 8-year-old Maine Coon unintentionally traveled back and forth between New Zealand and Australia after being overlooked in a plane's cargo hold.

A Maine coon cat named Mittens clocked up some serious air miles this month after being left on an Air New Zealand flight and accidentally flown to Australia and back. Mittens’ owner, Margo Neas, described the events as “both distressing and unacceptable” after paying $1948 to have her feline flown to Australia.

Mittens, 8, was only supposed to take a one-way flight from Christchurch to Melbourne. She ended up being airborne for over 10 hours.

Of course, both are matters of personal preference, with strong arguments to be made for either side, but, every so often, the worlds of aviation and pets collide, occasionally resulting in cat-astrophic consequences.

Air New Zealand would reimburse all costs associated ... “We’ll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” said spokesperson Alisha Armstrong.

A cat left behind on a plane, due to a luggage mishap, completes three international trips in one day. Air New Zealand issues an apology.

Air New Zealand apologised to the family for the distress caused and assured that it would reimburse the entire cost of Mittens’ travel.

Air New Zealand would reimburse all costs associated ... “We’ll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” said spokesperson Alisha Armstrong.

Air New Zealand would reimburse all costs associated ... “We’ll work closely with our ground handler in Melbourne to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” said spokesperson Alisha Armstrong.

Mittens, an eight-year-old Maine Coon, was booked to travel from Christchurch to Melbourne on 12 January - but her cage was left in the Air New Zealand aircraft's cargo hold. After waiting for ...