A plane carrying 250 people was cancelled before it completed its journey after a rat was allegedly found on board.

The KLM Airbus A330 was on its way to the Caribbean with stops first at Aruba and then at Bonaire. The plane was grounded in Aruba after the rodent was reportedly spotted in the cabin, crawling over the top of a curtain rail and leaping onto the overhead bins, while over the Atlantic Ocean.

When they touched down, those on board were told the next leg to Bonaire would not go ahead, and a deep clean was ordered.

“The rat was discovered over the ocean,” a KLM spokesperson told Dutch media. “Very unfortunate for the passengers who had to experience this.” The crew kept an eye on the rat for the remainder of the journey, as the pilot was effectively left with no choice but to continue to Aruba. “We don’t know how the animal got on board,” a KLM spokesperson said.

The unexpected stowaway was spotted crawling across the top of a curtain rail and jumping onto overhead bins and storage units.

In a video that has gone viral, which purports to have been taken in the cabin at the time, the rodent can be seen running across the rail, while passengers react with disgust.

The plane was scheduled to fly from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Aruba before continuing to the island of Bonaire on 10 December.

More than 250 passengers who were waiting to fly to Bonaire – or to return to Amsterdam – were told that the plane had been grounded and the flight cancelled.

“This was a very exceptional incident. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew are always our top priority,” a KLM spokesperson told the media.

“That is why we cancelled the flight from Aruba via Bonaire to Amsterdam on December 10th, so that the aircraft could be thoroughly cleaned before being put back into service.”

Affected passengers were given overnight accommodation while the airline looked to provide alternative flights.