An AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau in Malaysia was diverted after a snake was spotted inside the airplane. Pilot Hana Mohsin Khan shared a video of the reptile slithering near the overhead baggage area of the aircraft on Twitter, where it has racked up thousands of views. However, NPR reports that the video first surfaced on TikTok, where it blew up with more than 2 million views.
Ms Khan, whose Twitter bio states she is a commercial pilot, theorised that the snake could be an escaped pet from the baggage area or had climbed its way into the airplane. "Yikes! Snake on a plane!" she wrote while sharing the clip. "Either an escaped pet from passenger carry on/luggage or possibly climbed its way into the aircraft from the ground."
The footage shows the snake slithering inside the illuminated area of the plane, where it stayed till the flight was diverted.
AirAsia's chief security officer Liong Tien Ling confirmed the incident.
"AirAsia is aware of the incident that occurred on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on Thursday. As soon as the captain was notified, the plane was diverted to Kuching to be disinfected," he said in a statement to CNN Turk, adding that no passenger was injured in the incident.
"At no time was the safety of guests or crew at any risk," the chief security officer told Channel News Asia. "This is a very rare incident which can occur on any aircraft from time to time."
After the flight was diverted to Kuching, passengers were able to continue on their journey to Tawau on the same day.
