A finch from Kurdistan was refused entry into Austria after it unbeknownst to flight crew boarded a plane in Erbil on Monday.

Authorities at the airport in Vienna did not permit the foreign bird to enter the country.

It wasn't until the plane was in the air the flight crew noticed the special passenger.

Vienna airport emailed Erbil International Airport to inform them of the bird and then put it into a box and sent it back to Erbil.

"It is normal in every country. The sky is open to planes. Birds can fly anywhere they want. Erbil has plains and there are lots of these birds here. They can enter the airport and come into the terminal," said EIA Operation Manager Sulaiman Taha.