Two passenger planes in Macedonia were forced to circle the airfield after stray dogs refused to leave the runway area.

Security noticed the dogs playing around and ordered a flight from Vienna and one from Zurich to circle until the dogs could be cleared from the runway.

"Passengers were upset when they heard the roar from the engines as I pulled up," chief pilot Blagoja Kukulovski told local media. "We were flying in bad weather. To calm everyone down we had to explain what was the reason."

The planes circled for at least 30 minutes until the dogs could be chased from the area. Officials were checking for holes in the security fence around the airport.