It was as part of a conservation program that passengers on a Dusseldorf-Edinburgh flight saw Tanami, the name given to the koala who was traveling on a cabin seat.
The adorable 19-month-old animal left the Duisburg Zoo to travel 1,100 kilometers to the Edinburgh Zoo.
"Koalas are very sensitive animals, so you have to take special measures when you're carrying them in. They travel in the cabin and not in the hold so that the caregivers can make sure everything is going well during the flight," said Darren McGarry, the animal manager at the Edinburgh Zoo.
On the pictures tweeted by the Edinburgh Zoo, we could see the marsupial traveling with its favorite food, Eucalyptus.
"We welcome travelers from all over the world to Edinburgh Airport but few are as special and cute as a koala," explained Gordon Dewar, Edinburgh Airport Manager.
In exchange for Tanami, Toorie, another young male koala from the Edinburgh Zoo will make the opposite trip, also by plane, next week.
"Toorie will miss us all here at the Edinburgh Zoo but we are proud to see him playing his role in species conservation," said McGarry.
Koalas, Australia's flagship animals, are in decline in this country, because of climate change, habitat loss, dog attacks, car accidents, forest fires and chlamydia infections.
