An alligator lumbering across the runway at Orlando International Airport Monday caused a Spirit Airlines flight to stop on the taxiway, airport officials said on Twitter.

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“Pilots of a Spirit flight departing MCO today had to pause on the taxiway and give right of way to a local resident out for a morning stroll,” officials said.

The pilot announced to passengers that the plane needed to wait for the gator to cross before it could resume the  flight, according to news reports about the incident. The delay didn’t last long and the flight was soon on its way.

The airport put a positive spin on the short delay in its post on Twitter.

“Passengers caught a rare glimpse of an alligator trudging from one pond to the next,” officials said.

Generally, mating season for alligators is May through June, and wildlife officials warned that people are more likely to see them out and about during that time.

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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