Playing foxes cause flight delays

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Foxes, not snow, forced Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to close a runway Wednesday, delaying two arriving flights, an airport spokesman said.

Spokesman Patrick Hogan said one fox was "eradicated" while the other "left the field of its own accord," the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

The runway was closed for about five minutes, he said.

"We seldom have to close runways due to wildlife," Hogan said. "Birds are the most common wildlife threat."

Airport personnel occasionally see deer and other animals meandering onto the property, Hogan said, but "we can often intercept them before they enter the airfield itself."

The airport has trained sharpshooters on staff in case they have to shoot larger animals that approach runways, Hogan said.