Passengers on a flight to Los Angeles were left unsettled by an unexpected stowaway apparently hiding in the aircraft light fixtures after a set of paws and snout silhouette appeared above their heads.

In a viral video that has gained over three million views across TikTok and Instagram, one passenger captured the moment that a silhouette of what appears to be a type of rodent or possum was crawling about inside a light fixture on the cabin ceiling aboard a plane.

Social media commenters and other outlets suggested the plane belongs to Spirit Airlines due to the yellow colour scheme inside the cabin.

Spirit Airlines said in a statement to The Daily Mail that they are “aware of the video and are taking steps to address this matter”.

The person who took the video said they were flying from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to LAX at some point within the last week when they caught a glimpse of the apparent animal scurrying above passengers’ heads.

In the video, small paws first appear in the silhouette, then a snout also pops out, before the shadowy figure then scurries off out of view.

It’s unclear at what point in the three-hour flight that the rodent-like outline appeared, nor what exact date the incident occurred.

Some social media users found the video amusing, while others voiced serious concern.

“He probably been all over the world”, one Instagram user wrote, while another said “Ratotuille switched careers I see”.

One commented that the passenger was “flying Chuck E Cheese Airlines”, although someone else questioned if it was a possum rather than a rat or a mouse.

Another joked: “He’s just following his dreams, trying to get to LA. Gonna be a [star] someday.”

While some saw the humour in the crawling creature, others were concerned that the animal could do some damage to the plane.

“Dude! If that thing chews through wires while in the air,” one wrote, while another said: “My fear of flighting just wet up another level”.

One TikTok user was more concerned about the animal. “Poor baby. Did he get rescued?” they wrote.

The video comes after another airline found a stowaway rodent hiding in an in-flight meal in September.

A Scandinavian Airlines flight, from the Norwegian capital Oslo to Malaga in the south of Spain, was diverted to Copenhagen after a live mouse leapt out of the meal.

After the emergency landing, the passengers were later flown to Malaga on a different aircraft.

The Independent has contacted Spirit Airlines for comment.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast