Journalists set to accompany Joe Biden on his first overseas trip as president were delayed on their outbound flight to England on Tuesday night — because of cicadas.
A swarm of the noisy insects ― members of the billions-strong Brood X that emerges across the United States every 17 years ― flew into the engines of the chartered White House press plane as it was on the runway at Dulles International Airport, reported The New York Times.
The pilots were forced to return the aircraft to the departure gate. The bugs were to blame, a spokesperson for Delta Air Lines told The Washington Post.
A different charter plane was set to leave early Wednesday, when Biden will also depart on Air Force One, reported CNN.
Biden will be overseas for eight days.
In England, he’ll attend the G7 summit in the Cornish town of St. Ives before visiting Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.
Biden will later talk with NATO and European Union leaders in Brussels, and will hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.