AirAsia passengers discover live snake on the loose mid-flight in wild video

AirAsia passengers made a startling discovery after a live snake joined their flight, viral footage showing the unexpected flyer onboard.

Catching a flight only to find your plane has an extra slithery passenger onboard sounds like something only Samuel L. Jackson would have to deal with.

The 2006 American action horror film, Snakes on a Plane may be a cult classic but doesn’t feature high on possible scenarios one might encounter while flying.

However, that is exactly what happened after passengers discovered a live snake in an overhead bin during an AirAsia flight from Thailand’s capital Bangkok to the southern province of Phuket.

TikTok account ‘wannabnailssalon,’ usually dedicated to nail, hair, and beauty transformations, posted the viral video in which the snake could be seen casually moving along the overhead lockers of the cabin.

While stunned flyers made the most of the unusual experience by filming the snake, one flight attendant took upon the challenge of capturing the unexpected passenger. First trying to guide the snake into a plastic bottle, the flight attendant ultimately succeeded after using the bottle to push the reptile into a plastic bag.

In text across the video, wannabnailssalon pondered whether she should remain seated or take the scaley flyer as a sign to run. She also praised the flight attendant’s ability to capture the snake.

The flight was able to land without any further incident and was immediately handed over to the relevant engineering and safety teams for inspection.

In a statement to CNN, AirAsia Thailand said it was aware of the incident that took place onboard Flight FD301 on January 13.

“Flight attendants were notified before landing in Phuket after a passenger noticed a small snake in the overhead luggage compartment,” Phol Poompuang, head of corporate safety of AirAsia Thailand, said. “AirAsia crew were well trained to handle an occurrence of this nature and relocated passengers from the area as a precautionary measure.”

He continued, “As per standard procedure for an incident of this nature, the aircraft underwent a deep clean and fumigation before resuming operations. The safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew is always our top priority and at no time was the safety of guests or crew at any risk.”