See a raccoon crash through LaGuardia Airport's ceiling in this astounding video

Next to a Spirit Airlines kiosk early Monday morning, an unusual traveler joined the shuffling crowds at LaGuardia Airport: a raccoon.

As Ahmad Anonimis got ready for his journey, the animal fell through a roofing panel, and Anonimis was able to catch it all on a video that he posted to X that afternoon. Needless to say, the clip went viral.

Take a look: 

The video kicks off with the furry animal holding onto dangling wires, which remained attached to a damaged ceiling tile. Quickly, the raccoon falls to the ground, someone shouts “What the hell?” and passengers bolt away from the critter. By the video’s end, an alarm is blasting, the raccoon scurries around and a man grabs a large plastic trash can to try and trap it. 

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While LaGuardia has seen major upgrades in the past few years, we’re not certain they focused on protection from rodents.

The story ends happily, though: the raccoon was found and safely released outside and there were no injuries reported by flyers or Spirit personnel. 

“Ongoing inspections and follow-up efforts are in place to prevent further incidents,” a spokesperson from Port Authority told Time Out in a statement. 

Earlier this week, a Spirit Airlines spokesperson told Gothamist that they were “addressing the matter with a professional wildlife control company” after the raccoon was spotted between 8 and 8:30am. 

The raccoon incident won’t affect LaGuardia’s designation as the best airport in the country according to Forbes Travel Guide’s first Verified Air Travel Awards from just last month. The revamp of Terminal B in 2022 certainly didn’t hurt, although upgrades in other parts of the airport haven’t been completed yet. Monday morning’s raccoon spotting took place in Terminal A, which hasn’t been touched by the renovations.