An AirAsia Thailand flight from Bangkok to Phuket erupted in chaos after passengers discovered a live snake in an overhead luggage bin. According to CNN, the incident occurred on January 13 on Flight FD3015 which departed Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. A video of the incident showed that small reptile slithering over the overhead cabin lights above the overhead compartment. It also showed a flight attendant trying to capture the snake with a water bottle, before switching to a garbage bag.
"Passengers on an Air Asia plane flying from #Bangkok to Phuket found a #snake in the cabin crawling along the overhead bin," an X user wrote while sharing the clip.
Watch the video below:
In a statement to CNN, AirAsia Thailand said that it was aware of the incident onboard flight FD3015. The head of corporate safety for the airline, Phol Poompuang said that the snake sighting was a "very rare incident" and that flight attendants are "well trained to handle" such an occurrence.
Mr Phol also said that certain passengers were relocated from the area as a precautionary measure and that the flight landed without incident. The aircraft was inspected by engineering and safety teams once it was on the ground, followed by a deep clean and fumigation before it resumed operations, the airline official said.
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"Flight attendants were notified before landing in Phuket after a passenger noticed a small snake in the overhead luggage compartment. AirAsia crew were well trained to handle an occurrence of this nature and relocated passengers from the area as a precautionary measure," Mr Phol said.
"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," he added.
It is unclear what type of snake it was. The company also did not mention what happened to the reptile after the plane landed in Phuket.
Meanwhile, according to the outlet, this is the second reported incident of a snake found onboard an AirAsia plane. In 2022, a python was spotted onboard a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah. The plane ended up being re-routed to Kuching International Airport in the state of Sarawak because of the incident.
