Passengers discover live snake on an AirAsia flight in Thailand
Reptile spotted slithering over lights above plane’s overhead compartments
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Passengers on a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Phuket were shocked when they spotted a snake in the cabin’s overhead compartment.
The discovery led to some passengers moving away from the seats that were closer to the snake while others took out their phones to record the reptile. A TikTok video of the incident, shared by a user with the handle @wannabnailssalon, has gathered more than 3.4 million views since it was posted.
The tiny snake was seen slithering over the cabin lights on an AirAsia Airbus A320 plane on 13 January.
One of the cabin crew members reportedly tried to capture the snake inside an empty plastic water bottle. The snake was later swept into a garbage bag using a plastic bottle.
It was not immediately clear how the snake ended up inside the aircraft.
The snake was found as the plane was preparing to land at the Phuket airport.
Once the plane landed, the plane was searched thoroughly. Reports said that no other snakes were found.
Some observers on TikTok likened the situation to the Hollywood film Snakes on a Plane – a 2006 action thriller starring Samuel L Jackson that follows an FBI agent escorting a witness on a flight when criminals release venomous snakes, causing chaos.
The Independent has reached out to AirAsia for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments