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Hundreds of Qatar Airways passengers were delayed for more than six hours after a mouse scurried through the cabin of an aircraft at Madrid's airport.

The rodent stowaway was spotted running down the aisle, giving passengers a scare, as the plane landed at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport from Doha on Sunday.

Instead of being cleaned and prepared for the six-hour return journey from Spain to Qatar, the Boeing 777-400 was pulled from service and fumigated, causing a delay for passengers who were waiting to board.

Passengers were given a scare when the mouse was spotted running down the aisle of the cabin

Flight QR150 was scheduled to depart at 3pm but passengers had to wait more than six hours while the intruder was exterminated and the fumes cleared.

The rodent was found dead after the cabin was sprayed, but security protocol meant passengers had to wait until it was safe to board, according to Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos.

During the delay there were long queues at Qatar Airways' customer service desk as many passengers had missed connections to Thailand, Singapore and Bali, the newspaper reported.

It said three young people from Mallorca were travelling to Bali to celebrate New Year's Eve, but lost a day as a result of the delay.

The mouse was found dead after the plane was removed from service and fumigated (file photo) 

Qatar Airways has told passengers it will pay any costs incurred as a result of the disruption, 20 Minutos reported.

There have been several incidents this year where mice or rats were found on a plane, leading to lengthy delays for travellers.

In recent months Air India, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Swiss have had to delay flights while hunting for rodents or fumigating an aircraft.

The animals must be removed immediately as they could gnaw through important wires on an aircraft.

Earlier this year, an Air India official said rodents on planes are a 'common phenomenon' worldwide and they could 'get in anywhere', although they normally sneak onto planes via catering vehicles loaded with food.