A pair of pigeons caused chaos when they flew through the cabin of a Delta Airlines plane.

A traveller named Tom said that as he boarded Flight 2348 at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, he overheard another passenger alerting a flight attendant to the presence of a pigeon inside the aircraft.

Shortly after, the pilot addressed the cabin, confirming the presence of the uninvited avian guest and admitting he had no prior experience handling such a situation.

Baggage handlers were brought on board and successfully removed the creature, prompting a round of applause from passengers.

However, just as the plane began taxiing down the runway, a second pigeon appeared, flapping through the cabin and sparking fresh commotion.

Footage captured by Tom shows a passenger attempting to catch the bird while a woman screams in the background on May 24.

Tom said: 'It was caught, and we returned to the gate. Pilot said when he radioed the control tower about us coming back due to a pigeon, the guy said that was a first for him.

'Pilot told him it was the second time for him—the first being half an hour earlier.'

Delta Airlines said in a statement: 'Delta appreciates the careful actions of our people and our customers to safely remove two birds from the aircraft prior to departure, and we apologise to our customers for the delay in their travel.'

The Airbus A320 was carrying 119 passengers and five crew members. It eventually departed from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and landed at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin.