A dead armadillo on the Florida airport runway delays dozens of flights

ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) — Dozens of flights were delayed at Orlando International Airport on Wednesday after an armadillo was found dead on the runway.

A Southwest Airlines crew spotted the animal around 7 a.m. The incident was originally believed to be a bird strike until officials took a closer look.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that an armadillo was hit on the tarmac. The airport’s Airfield Ops Wildlife Division was called in to clean up the accident site, according to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

“Per protocol, this meant the temporary closure of the runway,” said an airport spokesman WFTV. “This closure occurred during one of the busiest times of the day at the MCO and its impact was felt even more severely due to routine maintenance and construction on two other runways at the same time, resulting in only one runway being used was in operation for about 20 minutes.”

Accordingly, 43 departing flights were delayed by up to an hour WESH.