diff --git a/aeon/datasets/_data_loaders.py b/aeon/datasets/_data_loaders.py
index ed0ed4ec39..d4c20b5cf8 100644
--- a/aeon/datasets/_data_loaders.py
+++ b/aeon/datasets/_data_loaders.py
@@ -234,6 +234,7 @@ def load_from_ts_file(
     replace_missing_vals_with="NaN",
     return_meta_data=False,
     return_type="auto",
+    encoding="utf-8",
 ):
     """Load time series .ts file into X and (optionally) y.
 
@@ -250,6 +251,8 @@ def load_from_ts_file(
         If "auto", returns numpy3D for equal length and list of numpy2D for unequal.
         If "numpy2D", will squash a univariate equal length into a numpy2D (n_cases,
         n_timepoints). Other options are available but not supported medium term.
+    encoding: str
+        name of the encoding used to read file with the open function.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -274,7 +277,7 @@ def load_from_ts_file(
     if not ext:
         full_file_path_and_name = root + ".ts"
     # Open file
-    with open(full_file_path_and_name, encoding="utf-8") as file:
+    with open(full_file_path_and_name, encoding=encoding) as file:
         # Read in headers
         meta_data = _load_header_info(file)
         # load into list of numpy