Snake on a plane! Footage captures the moment a SNAKE emerges from a luggage compartment mid-flight, in front of shocked passengers
Life imitated art in dramatic fashion during a flight from Bangkok to Phuket Island when a snake emerged from an overhead bin in front of the shocked tourists.
Shocked flyers spotted the two-foot-long reptile when it appeared in the sky next to a light on the AirAsia Airbus A320 on Saturday afternoon.
Passengers directly below the snake recoiled in horror and jumped from their seats to stand in the aisle – fearing a repeat of the horror film Snakes on a Plane.
But as the footage shows, a brave cabin crew member reached for the hose and used an empty plastic bottle to push it into a plastic bag.
Still unsure whether the snake was venomous – and possibly fatal – it was then securely tied up and stored in a cupboard.
Life imitated art in dramatic fashion during a flight from Bangkok to Phuket Island when a snake emerged from an overhead bin in front of the shocked tourists. A brave cabin crew member reached for the hose and pushed it into a plastic bag with an empty plastic bottle.
One of the stunned passengers, a British holidaymaker from Britain, said: 'I clenched my butt when I saw the snake. I don't like creepy crawlies at the best of times, let alone snakes over my head.
'I was quite relieved when they took it away. The flight attendant was calm and professional. But every time I felt something, I shook, thinking there might be someone else on the plane.
'I saw the movie, but I never thought this would happen to me in real life. What a start to my beach trip.'
One of the stunned passengers, a British holidaymaker from Britain, said: 'I clenched my butt when I saw the snake. I don't like creepy crawlies at the best of times, let alone snakes over my head.” Ground crew removed the hose before the passengers disembarked
The female film star of the video, who runs Wanna B Salon Phuket, said: 'Snakes can fly too! It all happened over my head. They found a snake on a plane.
“It happened while the plane was descending to land.”
Ground staff at Phuket International Airport boarded the plane before any passengers could depart. They searched the carry-on luggage to ensure that none of the passengers had smuggled the snake (or other animals) on board the flight.
The snake was later identified as a Blanford bridle snake, a type of harmless colubrid snake endemic to Asia.
They are non-venomous and avoid attacking humans.
In October last year, a rat and an otter, smuggled along with other exotic creatures in a passenger's carry-on luggage, caused chaos when they escaped into the air and bit the hand of a flight attendant during a VietJet flight from Bangkok to Taiwan.
In December, a Taiwanese holidaymaker was caught smuggling a prairie dog and two otters through Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Security personnel had become suspicious because of the large bulge in his pants.
Officials did not comment on whether the snake snuck onto the plane on its own or escaped from a passenger's luggage.
Thai Air Asia X, the AirAsia subsidiary that operates flights in the country, has been contacted for comment.
Eccentric owner Tony Fernandes was criticized in October last year for posting a topless photo of himself receiving a massage during an office meeting.
He bought British football club QPR in 2011 along with Ruben Gnanalingam and Kamarudin Meranun before stepping down as co-chairman in 2018.